I'll Be There With You Forever
by plague2005
Summary: Buffy got to know about the battle in L.A. She tries to reach there on time but is she too late? Can't they be together? Spuffy.
1. Prologue

**Chapter Title :** Prologue

**Disclaimer :**Joss Whedon owns the characters. Atleast most of them. I'm continuing the story which didn't end when he finished. Just want to have an ending.

**A/N :**To all Angel fans. This is a Spuffy story so it will not be a story for Bangel fans. Enjoy it. I hope you will like it. There is a happy ending for everyone in this story. So just continue reading without giving up. And also, PLEASE REVIEW. It helps me to write it better & better.

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It is a nice summer London day, full of sunshine. Giles looks out the window and looks at all the people moving around doing the casual jobs. He tries to recall being in a casual job. As far as Giles can remember, he has always been a Watcher. He can remember the moment he saw Buffy and trained her and brought her up like she was his own child. He cared for her and tried to protect her as much as he can. And because of her, the world is safe once more from all the evil.

He looks back at the office he is standing in. His office was refurbished and modernized compared to the old Watcher's Council. People are busy looking for Slayers all around the world. The slayers were brought up and trained by all the Watchers who have joined the new council. And Giles is leading the council as the head. He should be happy. But something still keeps bothering him. Giles misses the moments he had with the Scoobies. He thinks he should have gone easy with them. He should have allowed them to have their fun and live their life. But atleast they are on their own now living their lives happily. Dawn & Buffy are in Rome, Xander is still in Africa, Faith & Wood is still in Cleveland with some of the slayers escaping the Sunnydale destruction and Willow & Kennedy are in Brazil where Willow is learning to control her magic and improving it further more. It seemed like everything ended happily except for Anya & Spike. Their thoughts brought sad memories for Giles. He regretted the way he treated Spike especially in the last year in Sunnydale when Spike came back with the soul. After hearing what he did to save the world, Giles felt guilty for trying to get rid of him. He lit a candle for him in the church after reaching England.

Then the phone rang to disturb him from his thoughts.

"Hello"

"Yes this is Rupert Giles. Hi Melvrick! How is everything in L.A.? Really? What? I'll get right on it. I'll speak to you later. Bye."

After hanging up, Giles started to think for himself.

'Could Angelus have returned?' It seemed like a possible explanation. But he didn't want to run into any conclusions. He wondered whether it would be the right thing to do to inform Buffy. But he didn't want to keep any secrets after what happened with Spike. He looked through his phone book to find her number. He took the phone and called her. After three rings, someone picked the phone on the other side.

"Hello"

"Hello Buffy. It's Giles."

"Oh Hi Giles. After long time. Forgotten about his trainee since she is not the only slayer anymore huh?"

"Not at all Buffy. You will always be an important part of my life. However, this is an extreme situation that required your presence immediately."

"Shoot away Giles"

"There seems to be an upcoming apocalyptic battle coming. One of my informant said that there were lots of demon activities happening and it seemed like a hugh destruction is on its way."

"Don't they ever rest? Why do they just keep on coming? Anyways, where is it going to happen now? Hellmouth in Cleveland?"

"Actually No. It seems like it's going to happen in L.A."

"Where?" Buffy lost a moment in confusion. "Angel is in L.A. Is he involved in this?"

"I'm not sure actually. My informant was not specific about it."

"Giles… Do you think Angelus is back in action again? I mean Angel is running W&H and he might have gone back to his bad side again"

"I don't know. It seemed like a possible explanation. But I didn't want to conclude before consulting with you."

"Ok Giles. Thanks for the info. Get all the slayers you can into a plane to L.A. I'll meet them at the airport. Also inform all the Scoobies and Faith to come to L.A. If Angelus is back and have W&H under his control, we need all the power we can get to fight against him."

"OK Buffy. I'll arrange for the flight for everyone. They will meet you at the Airport in L.A."

"Thanks Giles."

"And Buffy…. good to see you back in action."

"Well… feels like old times doesn't it? I'll speak to you after winning as usual"

"Be careful Buffy"

"Thanks. I know."

Buffy hangs up and starts to pack up all the weapons she could find. She looked at the scythe for a moment thinking and then she packed it too with her weapons bag.

Giles started to make the calls to the rest of the Scoobies.

**TBC...**


	2. Final Battle

**Chapter 1 :** Final Battle

**Disclaimer :** Joss Whedon owns the characters. Atleast most of them. I'm continuing the story which didn't end when he finished. Just want to have an ending.

**A/N :** I got the quotes before the battle from Buffyworld website.

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Angel looks at the approaching crowd. It's hundreds, if not thousands, of demons of all sorts, shapes and sizes. A huge winged dragon flies angrily toward them overhead.

"OK. You take the 30,000 on the left..." Gunn said holding back the pain.

"You're fading. You'll last 10 minutes at best." Illyria stated at Gunn's condition

Gunn standing "Then let's make 'em memorable."

Angel steps forward and Spike, Gunn and Illyria follow. Spike is standing off to Angel's right side. Angel is flanked a step behind by Gunn on the right and Illyria on the left. They stare at the horde of demons approaching them in the alley.

"In terms of a plan?" Spike asked his grand sire.

"We fight."

"Bit more specific."

Angel steps forward, "Well, personally, I kind of want to slay the dragon."

The demon horde attacks them. "Let's go to work." He swings his sword fiercely.

Everyone charges at the demon army. There are so many of them. Illyria starts to destroy whatever comes in her way. She was smashing through all the heads and breaking any bones she could find with her hand. She is too quick for the demons to even give a single punch at her. She didn't need a weapon to fight with. She seemed like she was a weapon herself. Angel was slashing everything that is in front of him. He is covered with demon blood. He has been surrounded by the demons but he still keeps on fighting. Gunn keeps steady and hammers the axe through one of the big demon's head. He was struggling with the blood loss but he still keeps on fighting. Angel & Spike saw the big troll that came down the alley towards them. Angel was aiming for the dragon that was breathing fire now and he keeps on killing whatever is on his way. Spike was slashing through with the sword he has got hold of in his hand.

"OK Boys. Learn from the master. NEVER" Slash "EVER" Slash "THINK" Slash "OF" Slash "BEING" Slash "ME"

Takes a moment to look around the demons he killed. He has a smirk in his face.

"Ya. I'm the Big Bad. Remember that."

He seems to have injured his left shoulder but he doesn't seem to realize the pain. He looks around and sees Gunn giving up finally with all the blood loss and falls down to the floor. He was killed in an instant by one of the demons clawing his head off his body. he felt a moment of sadness running through his mind. Then with the vengeance, he started to attack the demon crowd even fiercely.

The demons started to maul Gunn's body when suddenly a powerful force shuttered them into dust instantly. Some of the demons looked ahead and saw a witch floating in the air coming towards them. She was murmuring something and suddenly she had a flow of fireballs coming towards them. It burned a lot of demons in its path.

"Looks like fire still hurts the demons" Willow gives a slight smile.

Then the army of the slayers came through the end of the alley. They started to fight the demons they saw on sight. Along came Buffy leading the army with Faith holding the scythe that she had in Sunnydale. She had fire in her eyes.

"Where did so much of demons come from in the first place?" Buffy murmured.

"Buff. Need to kill more demons" Willow said to Buffy and floated away.

"Ok. Back to work I guess." Buffy was killing the demons that came in towards her easily with a slice and their heads roll to the ground.

"Faith, you lead half of the girls and attack from the sides of the alley." Buffy ordered to Faith and watched her move from the incoming army of demons. Buffy got into the fighting stance with the rest of the girls she had with her.

She saw a blue demon fighting the other demons. The blue demon seemed strong and she was killing more & more with her hands. Buffy seemed impressed and also confused by what she saw.

'Why is there a demon fighting the other demons?' Then she saw around and saw the army of the demons in front of her.

'Oh Well... I can use all the help I can get at this moment.' She thought and started to kill the demons that came in her way. She sliced & diced towards the blue demon to make sure that it was a good demon and not a nutcase as Drusilla.

Illyria was killing the other demons by crushing their throats by her hand and smashing their heads to the wall and throwing them around like garbage. Buffy has now moved close to her and started to talk to her while fighting.

"Who are you? Why are you helping? Or are you helping the good guys in the first place?"

Illyria turned to look at the voice. She saw a blonde girl with an axe in her hand slashing the demons beside her. She saw the girl's face and knew she was not a threat for her. Illyria just ignored her and started to continue her battle. Something about the girl made her feel that she is not a normal human as she seems to be. So Illyria turned towards Buffy deciding to reply.

"I am Illyria, god-king of the primordium, shaper of things. I'm helping the mortals and the Half-Breeds to defend this planet" Illyria started to focus on the destruction she was causing and moves away from Buffy.

Buffy didn't understand a word Illyria said so she just nodded. Then the sudden thought came into her mind. She tried to question Illyria before she moved away from her.

"Where is Angel?" Buffy wanted to slay him by her own hands if he has turned into Angelus. Illyria nodded her head towards a demon group fighting someone far away. Buffy smiled noticing Angel must be fighting on the good side.

Then she realized something that Illyria said. 'Half-Breed means Vampire' she made a note in her head. Then something occurred to her. She remembered Illyria saying 'Half-Breeds' so there must be more than Angel fighting in this battle. She wondered who it could be.

She continued smashing the axe into the bodies of the demons on her way while she moved towards Illyria. She glanced back at the slayers she had with her to see that they are holding themselves against the demons they fought with. Buffy looked forward to see Faith & the rest of the slayers attacking the demons from the middle bringing a gap in-between the demon army. She saw Willow fighting with demons from the air and throwing magical thunders and fireballs at the army. She started to move back again towards Illyria and she got close to her.

"You said Half-Breeds. Who else is there to fight against evil beside Angel?" Buffy knew about Lorne, Wesley & Gunn and also a girl called Fred working beside Angel in W&H. But as far as she knows, none of them were half-breed. Lorne was a demon but not human. So she is lost in who it could be fighting beside Angel for the good side.

Before Illyria could answer, Buffy heard someone scream and also saw a big ball of fireball near the end of the alley and Angel shouting out loudly "SPIKE".

**TBC…**


	3. Where Is Spike?

**Chapter 2 :** Where is Spike?

**Disclaimer :** Joss Whedon owns the characters. Atleast most of them. I'm continuing the story which didn't end when he finished. Just want to have an ending.

**A/N :** More chapters coming up. Hope its interesting enough. I'm not sure of the ratings. But I think this chapter is PG-13.

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Spike is killing everything on sight with his right hand clutching the sword as if it is the only thing he had left in this world. He knew he will not survive in this battle and he doesn't expect to. He always wanted to be gone as a fighting hero and this will be the one in the end. He is fighting beside his grandsire as always have been. He didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing. 

Angel and Spike are close to each other and far from Illyria. They know that she can take care of herself. So they just focused on the battle in front of them. Angel noticed that Gunn was nowhere to be found so he got worried for a minute. So he looked at the only member of his team he can see.

"Spike. Can you see Gunn anywhere?"

"Sorry Boss. Charlie boy went down taking out some of the demons along with him."

Angel seemed a bit fluttered by that statement but regained himself back into the fighting mode.

"I guess this is how we are going to die. Well I for one don't have any regrets. Do you?" Angel questioned Spike.

"My regret is Not Killing you when I had the chance forehead. Still don't know why I didn't. And also leaving my girl to that poncy Immortal to enjoy for the rest of her life." Spike angered for a minute about the thought of Buffy with Immortal and slaughtered some of the demons in front of them.

"I know what you mean. You and I do not agree on many things but this one is certainly one of them that we agree upon" Angel looked forward at the demons while slaughtering and told Spike.

"Do you remember the battle we had in West Virginia with the town people?" Spike smiled as he remembered the battle with them. He looked at Angel and saw the same thought running in his mind. "Same plan?" Spike asked Angel. Angel nodded in agreement. Both of them spread apart and attacked the demons from the sides. The demon army in front of them splitted into two groups to fight both vampires. At the same moment, Spike and Angel started to battle through the groups splitting them into four and joining in the middle. Then they started use the confusion of the demons to their advantage and started to slaughter them from the inside. Some of the demons tried to attack the vampires but missed and killed the other demons. It was a slaughter house but Angel and Spike didn't give up. They killed many demons and took a moment of break when all the groups were demolished. Angel glanced up at the flying dragon now coming closer to them. Spike saw the look in Angel's face and mocked at him.

"What? Tall Dark and Forehead can't seem to slay the dragon huh?" Angel looked pissed for a moment.

"Give me a moment to think what to do you will you?" Angel looked around and saw the giant troll walking towards them. He looked at Spike. Spike saw the plan in his eyes and he looked at the troll too.

"You go after the big guy. I'll go after my dragon" Spike nodded in agreement. Angel moved away from the crowd to the building close by to hold on to the pipe to reach to the roof. He was there in a minute with his vampire speed and although he was hurt and needs a long day rest, he was determined to take down the dragon. He reached the top and looked at the dragon flying towards him. He was ready for it to attack him. But he failed to look at Spike who was running through the demon army towards the troll. Spike was killing the demons and tried to reach the big guy. The demons tried to rip him out and if he was a mortal human, he would have been dead a long time ago. But with his vampire strength and determination on taking out the big guys, he didn't fall down. He was near the end of the alley close to the troll. Then only he realized how big the troll actually is. It was huge and close to the height of the building next to it. He saw the portal that W&H has opened to destroy Angel and his friends. He didn't know how to close it. But he wanted to kill the demons that came through it. He got hold of an axe from the demon that lay down on the ground and threw it right to the feet of the troll. It gave a loud growl and started to walk towards him.

Meanwhile, Angel was trying to hold on to his end. He was struggling with the dragon since it was breathing fire which would incinerate him. He had to take cover from it in the roof and attacked it whenever it is close to his reach. It flew very close to him once trying to get hold of him. He jumped away from its claws and dropped his sword on the way of his escape. He saw the dragon turning around towards him and he didn't have time to get hold of his sword. He thought that would be the end of him, When the dragon closed in on him, he saw another fireball hitting the dragon square on the back. It gave a loud screech and looked at its attacker. Angel saw Willow flying in the air with lightening running through her body. She seemed like she was in a trance but he saw her throw another fireball towards the dragon. It escaped from it but got distracted from Angel.

Spike has reached the end of the alley and climbed onto the contruction building close to the troll. He jumped through the steps and ran up so he could reach to the top of the building. He saw a metal bar hanging outside the building swinging in the air. He got an idea to attack the troll. He ran towards the bar and jumped on it. The rope barely held onto his weight along with the heavy metal bar. He started to swing the bar in the air and when he got enough momentum, he chopped the rope with his sword and flew along with the bar towards the troll. It went in real speed and before the troll noticed it, the bar struck it right in the eye. Spike jumped from the bar before the impact onto the troll. He reached the head of the troll and shouted out in delight "Square one to the eye".

Then he used all the strength he had left in his body and slammed the sword into the head of the troll. The skin was hard and thick but with the vampire strength, he managed to get through into its brain. The troll gave a loud scream which almost shaked the ground like an earth quake. Most of the demons nearby saw what happened and started to advance towards Spike and the troll. It seemed like the troll was their leader of the attack. Just then another dragon flew from the portal and right towards Spike. Spike didn't notice it since it came from behind. He was thinking of getting the troll to fall front and get some demons squashed on the way. Suddenly he felt something closing by and just when he turned around, he saw the dragon breath out fire through its mouth. Before he could react, he was burning up along with the troll who was dying from the impact of Spike's sword.

Spike saw a lot of flashes in his eyes before he died. He saw himself writing the poem for Cecily. He saw the alley where Drusilla turned him into a vampire. He saw his first introduction to the team. He saw the tortures he did along with Angelus. He saw his mother dying in front of his eyes. He saw himself coming to Sunnydale broken by Drusilla leaving him. He saw the love he felt for Buffy from the dreams. He saw her jumping into the portal and dying. He saw her kissing him after the music show. He saw her having sex with him in the building falling. He saw the pain he caused when he tried to rape her. He saw himself fighting for the soul he wanted. He saw her telling him how good he has become. He saw her telling him 'I believe in you Spike' He saw him holding her before the battles with the First. He saw her looking at him in the last minute when the school basement beginning to collapse and saying 'I love you'. He felt her hand in his and he came back to reality and said 'I love you too Buffy' and burnt in the fire along with the troll. The troll collapsed in front and burnt up some of the demons and laid on the ground.

**TBC…**


	4. Is This The End?

**Chapter 3 :** Is This The End?

**Disclaimer :** Joss Whedon owns the characters. Atleast most of them. I'm continuing the story which didn't end when he finished. Just want to have an ending.

**A/N :** More chapters coming up.

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Angel was trying to attack the dragon while it tried to handle both its opponents. Willow continued throwing fireballs towards the dragon distracting it from clawing Angel. Meanwhile Angel got hold of his sword again and tried to attack the dragon from the rooftop. It was struggling but it seemed quite strong to handle both of them. Willow was starting to get annoyed with the dragon and she started to whisper some magical words and suddenly a series of fireballs started to appear close to the dragon and went towards it. The dragon tried to escape but got hit by the fireballs and it started to burn up and evaporated. Angel seemed a bit upset about it and went towards Willow who landed on the rooftop exhausted. 

"Hey Willow. Nice of you to drop in by."

"Hey Angel. Thanks for the notice in advance" Willow mocked at Angel.

"Sorry about that. After me taking control of Wolfram and Hart, Giles didn't consider us a priority." Angel said while remembering of the call he made when he needed Willow's help with Fred.

"Well, I don't know what's been going on but Giles called me and told me to come to L.A. Apparently there seems to be an apocalypse coming up and he said it required my help so here I am. Buffy came in too."

"Buffy is here?" Angel said with a surprised voice.

"Ya. She and Faith are here with the slayer army. She thought you have turned into Angelus again and came into kill you." Willow chuckled when she saw Angel's face.

Angel looked a bit pale and threatened by that thought.

"Relax Angel. She won't kill you since you are like yourself."

"I know. It's just that there may be other reasons that would motivate her to kill me."

Willow looked confused. "I don't understand"

"It doesn't matter now. We can talk about that later. Important thing is to get rid of this demon army against us." Angel tried to avoid Willow's gaze.

"Right" Willow doesn't look satisfied but she takes the answer Angel gave her for the time being.

Just then they heard the loud scream of the troll from the end of the alley.

Angel heard it and with his vampire eyes, he could see Spike on top of the troll's head. Angel got a small smile on his face. "Always trying to take down the big guy." He murmured.

Just then he saw a dragon coming out of the portal. It came right behind Spike and it seemed like Spike didn't notice it. Angel tried to warn Spike by shouting loudly. "SPIKE"

Willow seemed shocked and surprised by Angel's shout. She didn't know Spike was alive and she couldn't see him in the troll's head. She thought Angel must have gone crazy.

"What are you shouting about? Spike is not here. He's been dead for a while now. Actually he has been dead for a long time but he burned away in Sunnydale school basement." Willow was blabbering while looking at Angel weirdly.

"There is no time for explanation. Can you get me near to the big troll at the end of the alley?" Angel asked with a hurried voice.

"I can try." with that, Willow started to focus more on her words and then Angel started to feel the ground go lower from his feet. In a minute, he was starting to float in the air. He tried to fly close to the troll but before his very eyes, the troll and Spike got in a fire by the dragon's breath. He saw them starting to burn. He saw Spike burning and his ashes falling down with the troll face forwards and over a bunch of demons. He knew he was too late to save Spike.

Sudden look of his grand-childe dying in front of his eyes made him tremble with feelings. Angel always had some care for Spike regardless of his cockiness and rude remarks. He was his family after all. He was jealous of Spike to have a lot of things easy while he had to have everything tough. But still he always knew Spike had some good heart in him that made him the way he was. So grief took Angel's focus for a minute and he was lost in the action.

He didn't notice the dragon that flew from the portal coming towards him. It seemed to have used its breath of fire on the troll and Spike so it tried to attack Angel's floating body with its claws. But Angel recovered too soon and moved away from the claws. Before the dragon flew away, Angel turned and got hold of the dragon's thick wings and pushed himself on top of its body. He was sitting and riding the dragon on its back. He steadied himself and then using both of his hands; he swung the sword right across the dragon's neck. It went in through and halfway into it's neck hurting the dragon painfully. It tried to shake off Angel from its back but Angel didn't slip away. He pushed the sword further and further until it chopped the head off the dragon and making the body fall down towards the demon army. It fell in top of the army and Angel went down with it.

Faith and her slayers were close-by making their share of the damage of the army. She saw a head fall off from the sky and when she looked up, she saw the dragon's body falling towards the ground. She went towards its crashing trying to find out who was riding the dragon. When she reached the destination, she saw Angel's bruised body in the ground covered with dragon's sticky blood. She raised him up and helped him move to the corner of the alley. She left him there with his sword to protect himself and continued to kill the demons with her slayer army.

Willow was watching and trying to keep Angel steady himself in the air. And when he landed on the dragon, she got back into floating and flew back to where Buffy was. She saw a blue demon fighting in front of Buffy trying to cover the blonde girl from the demon army. Buffy was gazing towards the rooftop and didn't move at all. Willow reached Buffy and landed close to her and went to her.

"Buffy! What's wrong? What are you looking at?" Willow questioned.

Buffy didn't come out of her gaze. Willow shook Buffy's body.

"Buffy. Snap out of it. Come on.. What's wrong?"

"I heard someone call Spike's name. Did I hear it or was it an illusion?" Buffy questioned Willow once she saw whom she was talking with.

"No Buffy. It was Angel. He only shouted Spike's name. He said he will explain later." Willow explained.

"So Angel is fighting for the good guys?" Buffy asked for confirmation.

Willow nodded and turned her head towards Illyria.

"Is she on our side?" Buffy nodded her head in agreement.

"Willow. Can you go and see how Faith and the other slayers are doing? I don't want them getting killed in the middle."

"Ok. Will you be alright here?" Buffy seemed to have got back and was getting ready for the fight again.

Willow looked towards the demon army and then she started to float back towards Faith and the slayers. When she reached them, she saw Faith demolishing some of the demons and was trying to protect Angel from them. Angel seemed to be pretty beaten up and was out of the fight. Willow landed closely to Angel.

"Hey. Are you alright?" Willow asked the half conscious vampire.

"Be..Alright. Need…to…close….portal.." Angel tried to speak but he was struggling to say anything in clear sentences.

Willow understood what Angel was trying to say. She looked farther down the alley to see the familiar blue and white colours of a portal whirling. She then knew what it would take to finish the battle. She looked at Angel and said

"Don't worry. I'll take care of this. You take a break." She then looked up in the air and when she looked back down; her eyes have turned into black. Her hair was starting to become black. She started to float again and this time she went straight towards the portal. She was close to it and she whispered some magical words to the sky and held her hands up. Suddenly there were lightening in the already raining sky. The lightening came down to Willow's hands. She was still saying her magic words and the pointed both her hands towards the portal. It created some sparks in the portal and it started to dissolve into thin air. When it was finally done, Willow turned towards the demon army who are abandoned in the middle of the alley. She started to call more powers from the nature and earth started to shatter like as if it was an earth quake. Cracks were forming in the ground. And sudden winds blew through the alley knocking the demons off their balances. Then suddenly the off-balance made the demons run for their lives and before they could escape, they combusted by flames from inside their bodies. All the demons in the alley fell into the ground as dust. Only people dead left in the alley were the bodies of Gunn and fallen slayers in the battle. Slayers alive along with Buffy and Faith moved together and Illyria was standing next to Buffy while they moved closer to Angel who was unconscious at the moment. Willow landed to the ground looking exhausted but back to her normal self. She gave a smile towards Buffy who nodded her head in appreciation.

"Good work Will." Buffy called out to her friend.

"Thanks Buf. If you don't mind, I'd like to lie down for a while. Probably a week." Willow said to Buffy before falling to her knees. Buffy told a fellow slayer to assist Willow and went towards Angel. She and Faith got hold of his body from either side.

"We can rest back in this building. Take the bodies and the injured in first. The rest of you who can move, look for some supplies that could be used." Buffy gave orders to the slayers and moved towards Hyperion.

"B. You sure of this?" Faith questioned.

"Ya. It still belongs to Angel. Even after him moving to Wolfram and Hart." Buffy told to Faith and continued to move towards the building.

Willow got to her feet with the help of the slayer. While she moved, she got a glance of a duster in the ground covered with ashes. It seemed familiar to Willow for some reason.

"Can you get that Duster for me Rebecca?" She asked the slayer by her side.

Rebecca looked at Willow as if she was weird but didn't say anything. She knew about the witch's powers and now she saw it by her own eyes. She was scared at the moment to mock the witch. So she did as Willow said. Willow got hold of the duster but she was too tired to inspect it. So instead, she moved towards Hyperion with the slayer helping her.

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**A/N :**If anyone is wondering why Willow didn't do the magic and get rid of the demons in the first place, it's because she had to use Black Magic to close the portal and kill the demons. Even though she has control over it now, she still tries to limit it unless it is absolutely necessary. So when the portal needed to be closed, she turned in for black magic and used it to kill the demons too. She has grown powerful over the year. Really powerful. You will see it later in the story. 

And as for the bodies of the troll and the other demons, they turned into ashes too. Willow's magic was the cause.

**TBC…**


	5. In The Hyperion

**Chapter 4 : **In The Hyperion

**Disclaimer :** Joss Whedon owns the characters. Atleast most of them. I'm continuing the story which didn't end when he finished. Just want to have an ending.

**A/N :** Sorry for the long delay. Life was hectic for a while. Anyways, continue with the story. More chapters coming up. PLEASE REVIEW

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Everyone entered the Hyperion. It looked like an old horror building. It hasn't been used for a while since Angel moved to Wolfram and Hart. Buffy and Faith moved towards the steps with Angel in their hold. They tried to take him upstairs. Buffy looked back and saw the slayers settling down in the ground floor. Most of them seemed alright with slight cuts and bruises. But it doesn't seem anything serious to get any of them into a hospital. Buffy got a smile on her face because of beating the odds once again. Earth was saved once more by a small group of people and a powerful witch. She looked at Illyria still trying to figure out what exactly she was. She seemed restless. 'Must be the fight. Must have got her blood excited. If she has blood that is.' Buffy got a smirk in her face and continued to move Angel towards his old room. It was still the same and she laid him down on his bed. She looked at Faith who looked exhausted from the fight. 

"It's great to see you Faith. Nice you still have the fighting skills" Buffy commented.

"Hey.. you are the one who retired. I was in Cleveland trying to protect another hellmouth. I should be saying that to you." Faith came back defensively.

"Been There. Done That. Gained nothing but Lost a lot. Had enough of it. Now it's time for the next slayer to do the job." Buffy said with a glimpse of sadness in her voice.

"It's ok B. I've got everything under control. You don't have to worry about it. Me and Wood are handling things just fine" Faith assured.

"So how is the old principle?" Buffy chuckled.

"He's NOT old. Besides, he's got stamina more than the other guys I've been with. So he's there with me still. I left him in charge while I came here to help you guys out."

"Well… don't let me keep you away from your guy. If you want to go back, you can. Everything is settled here." Buffy tried to convince Faith.

"I'll just stay for a couple of days before I go back. Just in case."

"It's up to you. I don't want your principle to be sad and lonely without you there with him." Buffy teased.

"Hey.. he can be by himself you know. Besides, how's your romeo Immortal?" Faith questioned.

A glimpse of sadness came into Buffy's eyes. She composed herself quickly before replying.

"Things are ok between us." She tried to convince Faith. But Faith knew better.

"And I'm queen of England. There you are with the Romeo of many centuries whom girls would die to be with and still you have a sad look in your face."

"It doesn't feel the same." Buffy said it and dismissed her thoughts immediately.

"I understand. Listen… if you ever need to talk, I'm here for you now ok?"

"Ok. Thanks."

Buffy and Faith glanced at Angel who was lying on his bed. They knew he would be alright after drinking some blood. Buffy decided to go find some blood and both slayers move down to the floor to talk to the other slayers.

"Ok girls. Looks like we are going to stay here for a while. Atleast a week. So get comfortable. This is a hotel… Maybe not a five star one but atleast it has rooms and beds. So find yourself a suitable place and get settled." Buffy ordered to the girls who started to rush towards the rooms upstairs.

Buffy moved to Rebecca and Willow who just entered the doorway of Hyperion. Buffy went immediately to Willow and took her hand to support her. She helped Willow move to a comfy chair near where Angel's office used to be. She glanced back at Rebecca and gave her an appreciation nod.

"Rebecca… Can you do me a favour and get some pig's blood from the butcher store? Angel is pretty beaten up and he needs blood to recover." Buffy asked the slayer who has become pretty strong in the last year.

"Ya Sure Buffy. I'll be right back." Rebecca rushed off the door to find a butcher's shop.

"Seems like the sun is starting to rise. Or maybe it is coming out of the clouds covering it." Faith said while looking out the window.

"Good thing we got here in time or else Angel would have been toasted IF he survived the battle." Buffy said it with a smirk. "Told him not to go into the evil side."

She looked back at Willow who looked tired as hell but holding onto a jacket in her hand. Buffy looked around for anyone to help her. Then she motioned Faith to come close to her.

"Hey… Willow seems tired from the battle. Can you find a room for her to rest in?" Buffy asked Faith who just nodded back.

Faith rushed back upstairs and found a comfortable room for Willow. It seemed refurbished from the other rooms and she decided it would be suitable for the witch. She came back and told Buffy about the room.

"Great. Can you show us the way? We'll be right behind you." She took hold of Willow from the side and supported her to get up. Willow kept her hold on the duster on one side while Buffy held onto her from the other side. They all walked up the stairs into the room Faith found.

"I'll let you two alone and find a room for myself." Faith excused herself and left to find another room.

Buffy guided Willow to the bed and helped her settle into the bed. Willow was half-conscious but still held onto the duster. After letting her into the bed under the sheets, Buffy tried to take the duster off Willow's hands to allow her to get comfortable. Just then she had a familiar tingling feeling when she touched the duster. She pulled it off of Willow's hands and she smelled a familiar smell of alcohol with cigarette in the duster. It was a smell she was really familiar with. It started to bring back some memories from the past for her. But she quickly dismissed it away. 'My mind is going all off balance lately.' she thought for herself. "A lot of people drink and smoke and wear the same duster all the time." she convinced herself.

Buffy took the duster with her and looked around to see many slayers already settled in many rooms. Buffy looked and found a room for herself. It was not as posh as her room in Rome, but it will do for the time being. She dusted the bed and the sheets and she realized the tiredness she has for herself. She was exhausted to move. Buffy decided to take a break and have a small nap before going back downstairs.

She put the duster in a chair in the room and got comfortable in the bed. She almost fell into a sleep. Her mind was taking control of her thoughts. She was remembering the moments of the battle. She remembered seeing the army of demons and she remembered Willow fighting them from the sky. She remembered seeing Illyria and then she remembered a huge fireball at the end of the alley and someone screaming the name 'SPIKE'. She remembered Willow saying that it wasn't an illusion and Angel was the one who called Spike's name from the rooftop. Then her mind started to connect the dots. Spike's name being called out. Seeing a duster in Willow's hand which seemed familiar. The smell of the duster being familiar. But then she remembered the moment in Sunnydale when she was with Spike in the last minute before the destruction. Both of them holding hands and her telling Spike "I LOVE YOU" and him replying "No you don't. But thanks for saying it." She remembered the pain of his hand burning in fire. And for some reason, she remembered the fireball in the end of the alley again but this time a lot closer now. She felt as if she was burning in the fireball too.

Buffy sprung up awakening from her thoughts.

**TBC…**


	6. Truth is Out

**Chapter 5 :** Truth is Out

**Disclaimer :** Joss Whedon owns the characters. At least most of them. I'm continuing the story which didn't end when he finished. Just want to have an ending.

**A/N :** I would like to thank Laura Crook for betaing (loss of terms) my story. More chapters coming up. PLEASE REVIEW

* * *

When Buffy finally got downstairs after clearing her thoughts from her dream, it was almost mid-day. She went to see how Willow was doing. She looked into the room to see a peaceful look in her slumbering friend's face. She walked around and downstairs where she saw some Slayer girls who are still in the beginning stages of their training chatting and giggling regardless of the battle they just survived. Seeing them reminded Buffy of Dawn. Both sisters used to be all friendly and giggly all the time. Though both sisters used to be friendly and close, after all they have been through everything seemed quite serious. And Dawn is trying to live her life as a teenager in Rome which is like a kid in a sweet parlour. All the Italian boys who try to hang around with Dawn makes her feel like a mother protecting her daughter. That reminded her to call Dawn and Giles to let them know how everything went.

She walked downstairs and she saw Faith talking with some Slayers. She moved towards her.

"Hey Faith. How's everything?"

"Hey B. We were talking about the required stuff to get for the girls here. They don't understand hair brush and nail polish doesn't fall under those categories."

"Well… if they want to keep their looks good, they would need it. They are not natural good looking like you are they?" Buffy said it with a smirk. The girls giggled in very low voices.

"Nice to know you have that sense of humor still B. I'll tell them to get you some makeup too. You seem to get older nowadays." Faith said it with a blunt voice.

"Hey.. I'm not ol…" Buffy cut it off because she knew it wasn't going anywhere. Instead, she asked Faith about the important questions.

"So how many casualties?"

"Five so far. Six including Gunn. Poor guy didn't have a chance. A human against a bunch of demon army? Not a fair fight if you ask me. Wonder why Angel went in with the blue bird and Gunn into this battle in the first place."

"We can ask him when he wakes up. By the way, did he get his blood?" Buffy asked while looking around for Rebecca.

"Ya. He got his blood. Becca got it from a Chinese butcher shop which opened early in the morning. He had his food and Becca went to her room to get some sleep."

"Good. Let the girls take a day rest. No need for any rush. Will cleared the demons in the alley. Just have to make sure no one else came through in different areas." Buffy said while thinking.

"I'm gonna go to Angel and see how he is doing. Wanna join me or do you need some rest?" She asked while moving towards Angel's room.

"I'll join you. Need to know the details before go to sleep. Otherwise my head will explode." Faith said and chuckled at the imagery of what she said.

Buffy smiled too and moved towards the stairs. She was stopped on her way by Illyria.

"Where did my Pet go? Did anyone see him in the battle field?" She questioned the two Slayers.

"Sorry Illyria. Don't know what you are talking about. I think Angel will help you with your questions. You can join us if you want." Buffy said and Illyria nodded in agreement. All three ladies moved entered Angel's room.

Angel was sitting in his bed alive and conscious. But he still looked pretty beaten up and sorrow was evident in his face. When he saw Buffy entering the room along with Faith, he gave her a short smile.

"Hey Buffy. Long time no see."

"I know. Seemed like you were evil for some time. Or at least worked for an evil law firm. What happened? Got fired?"

"No. I retired. They didn't allow me to so I closed the firm." Angel's voice was mocking. Buffy chuckled at his response. Faith moved towards Angel.

"Hey Angel… Great to see you still back undead." She gave him a hug and stepped away. Buffy embraced him briefly as well before moving away.

Angel looked at Illyria, seeing the grief and frustration in her face. She seemed restless and was pacing up and down the room. He knew why she was acting that way but he didn't want to answer to her at the moment.

Unfortunately Buffy raised the question.

"So how many people in your team died?"

"Let's see. Wesley died before the battle. I assume Lorne left before the battle. I told him to. He is not a fighting demon anyway. And then I assume Gunn didn't make it either." Angel didn't want to continue after that.

"How did it begin in the first place?" Faith asked the question that has been bothering her for some time now.

"It started when I found out about a group of demons in L.A. who worked for Wolfram and Hart by controlling the world for them. So I decided to take down the group. Me and my team took down all the major players and causing Wolfram and Hart to come after us. How did we survive anyway?"

"Willow came through. She closed the portal and burned all the demons that came through the portal." Buffy answered with slight proud of her friend.

"Wow… Seems like she's getting pretty strong isn't she? Wish she was here when we needed her." Angel said with a sad voice.

"What are you talking about?" Buffy asked clearly confused.

"I believe you've met Illyria" who stopped pacing and looked at Angel. "She is in the body of a close friend of mine. Her name was Fred. Illyria is an ancient demon god from the old well. She was prophesied to come back alive and she took the body of Fred. We needed Willow's help to get Illyria out of Fred's body. But we couldn't because Giles didn't want to help." Angel said with a slight anger in his voice.

"I'm sure Giles must have thought you were evil and wanted to do something evil with Willow. You can't blame him. It is all he could assume after knowing that you were running the evil law firm, right?" Buffy said in defense of Giles. In her mind, she was wondering 'Why didn't Giles say anything to me about this?'

"Besides, she was a major help in the battle, Angel. At least she was fighting for the good side. So be happy with what you have, man." Faith said in her response.

"That doesn't bring back Fred now does it?" Angel shot back at Faith but then his anger melted away. "I'm sorry. I'm trying to handle my friends' deaths and I partially feel it is my fault they got into this mess."

"Come on now Angel. I believe they knew what they were doing. They were doing the good thing and I doubt it they would want to change anything if they are given the chance." Buffy said, trying to comfort Angel.

"Your leader looks injured badly" Illyria spoke out of nowhere.

"He is _**Not**_ my leader" Buffy snapped back at Illyria who just ignored what she said.

"We better let you take some rest. We can come back in the evening. There is blood next to your table if you need it. Just give a shout and someone will come in to help you." Faith assured and tried to leave with Buffy. But before they did, Illyria asked the question she has been waiting to ask.

"What happened to the half-breed?"

Buffy remembered Illyria saying something about Half-Breeds in the fight. She has forgotten about it in the heat of the battle. But now she remembers so she turns and waits for Angel to respond.

Angel was trying to look away and avoid the question. But the stares he got from Illyria and then Buffy made him turn back towards them. From the looks the ladies gave, he knew he has to tell the truth. He sighed and spoke to Illyria softly.

"I'm sorry. He didn't make it. He died in the fire."

Illyria looks distraught. She felt grief for the Spike. He has become her favourite ever since she came back alive. She felt the emotions Fred had for Wesley and Spike. And her feelings for her pet were also there. So it made her feel sad and upset.

"I will miss him," she said softly.

"Who?" Buffy questioned. "I can't remember any vampire working with you in the good side Angel. Unless he is a new acquaintance for you from the Powers That Be." She looked confused.

"Ya Angel. Last time I saw you, there were no vampires with you. So who is he?" Faith asked the question too.

Before Angel could answer to any of the girls, Illyria spoke.

"He is _**Spike**_. A strong half-breed with a soul who fought against evil to save your world and gave his life. He was my favourite pet and I will miss him and hope his soul rests in peace" Illyria said trying to hide the emotions she was feeling.

Angel frowned of Illyria's interruption but felt grief for the words she spoke of Spike. He has indeed been a hero. Angel failed to register that in his mind.

Faith looked shock. She didn't believe what she was hearing. The last time she saw him, he was down in the basement of Sunnydale High School. He was dying and he should be dead. 'How did he come back alive and die again?' She questioned herself.

Buffy was in a shock. She only heard until Illyria say 'Spike'. Everything else faded away and the next second, she was falling to the floor.

**A/N :** If you are wondering about Spike, don't worry. I was building up a base for his re-entry into my story. Now that it's been covered, I guess SPIKE will be BACK SOON.

**TBC…**


	7. Where Am I?

**Chapter 6 :** Where Am I?

**Disclaimer :** Joss Whedon owns the characters. At least most of them. I'm continuing the story which didn't end when he finished. Just want to have an ending.

**A/N :** Promised you the return of Spike. Now here he is. The Big Bad is back in town. Or back in the story. I would like to thank Laura Crook for betaing (loss of terms) my story. More chapters coming up. PLEASE REVIEW

* * *

Spike awoke with a scream from the pain he felt as he burned up. He tried to see around him but couldn't. He was surrounded by darkness. He tried to focus as much as he could but he couldn't. His eyes were still hurting as though they were still on fire. Giving up, Spike crumpled to the floor, rolling into a ball in an attempt to escape the pain that he felt in his body. It was as if fire was everywhere around him. Spike couldn't do anything else but feel the pain coursing through his body. He heard some footsteps but couldn't see any figures in the pitch dark. Two pairs of hands reached for him, and, taking hold of his arms and shoulders they dragged him to his feet. They held him strongly and didn't let him go when he tried to struggle away from them. He gave up and hung freely in their arms without any strength left in his body to fight. His arms were pulled up and he felt chains being clipped to his wrists.

"So you must be Spike. The other vampire with a soul." A strange voice from far in the dark spoke clearing the silence.

"Ya. Mind telling me who you are? Cause I can't seem to see anyone and I can't remember your voice from anywhere." Spike spoke with his soft voice barely above whisper. His throat still felt the flame's after effects, making his voice crack.

"You wouldn't have. Your world has never met me before. I am above your generation." the voice seemed confident.

"We already have someone like that with us. Although she is a looker and I can't seem to see you anywhere." Spike mocked at the voice expecting it to retaliate.

It seemed to work. Suddenly a flare came in the room. It seemed like a dark cave and a figure almost like the demon Spike saw in Africa came into view. It was looking directly at Spike with glowing green eyes from the light in the room.

"I believe you are speaking of Illyria. I knew her pretty well. She was an infamous one to say the least. You have no idea how powerful she is do you? You are lucky she wasn't your enemy," the demon spoke with an impressed tone.

"Ya. Pretty blue bird. Too bad she had a bit of ego shell though. Could have been better if she spoke like humans." Spike continued to carry on the conversation trying to get some information.

"She was a very powerful god. I don't expect anything less from her." Demon continued to talk and forget what its goal was for a moment. Then it came out of its trance and it moved towards Spike. "Maybe she will do my work in the future," Demon said with a glint in its eyes.

"And what would that be? Have a bad hair day?"

"Your words mean nothing to me vampire. I am well beyond your control. You are in my control. I will do as I please."

"So tell me again. Who are you? Where am I? Cause if you are my entertainer, I think I'm, pretty bored right now." Spike tried to get some answers from the demon.

"I know all about you vampire. I know about your grand-sire Angelus too. And the humans both of you have feelings for in your world. Do not worry. All of them will join you soon enough."

"Touch any of them and you will be sorry for ever getting to know me." Spike threatened the demon and tried to rip off the chains from the walls with the sudden strength born of anger.

The demon laughed. "There is no use vampire. Those chains are magicked. Only I can let you out. Which I will do when I get the rest of your friends here."

"What do you want with me? And why do you want them? What do they have anything to do with you?" Spike asked a series of questions.

"All in due time. For the time being, because of your sacrifice and the strength of your friends, you have delayed my time of arrival. But I will not be stopped. I will come back stronger than before." Demon declared with a raised voice.

"Great. So let me guess. You are the upper level demon to Eve. The right hander for the Senior Partners of Wolfram and Hart." Spike told the demon what came in his mind without thinking.

That seemed to anger the demon. "Fool. I am not working for the Senior Partners. Senior Partners work for me. I am Wolfram and Hart." The demon said with a proud tone.

"Wh…what?" Spike was surprised with the demon's announcement.

"You will come to know in detail later on. For now, I would like to reward you for your courage in preventing my entry into your dimension." Demon said and looked behind somewhere in the dark.

Two figures came into the view and they didn't seem human. They looked like demons with rough skin and spiky shoulders. One of them had a tray covered with a piece of cloth and the other was holding a metallic piece that seemed similar to what the first used to torture Spike. A sudden feel of panic ran through Spike's body.

"I hope my servants here will make your stay comfortable as much as they can." The demon smirked at the statement and left the room.

The demon with the metallic object took the cloth off the tray to show Spike more metallic objects in the tray. They seemed like torture devices. Spike knew what was going to happen next.

The voice of the demon laughing can be heard in the distance far away.

**A/N :** Sorry if this chapter is short. I wanted to continue but the story in the next chapter has to be together. So stay tuned. Next one will be available shortly. And before I forget, PLEASE REVIEW. It helps me to know how readers like my thoughts.

**TBC…**


	8. Convenient

**Chapter 7 :** Convenient

**Disclaimer :** Joss Whedon owns the characters. At least most of them. I'm continuing the story which didn't end when he finished. Just want to have an ending.

**A/N :** Thanks for your patience. Hope the story is interesting. I would like to thank Laura Crook for betaing (loss of terms) my story. More chapters coming up. PLEASE REVIEW

* * *

Meanwhile, back in Hyperion…

"Buffy," Angel and Faith called out simultaneously. Faith was the closest to Buffy, catching her quickly before the other Slayer hit the ground. Angel's face clouded over with worry for Buffy, but his injury prevented him from moving to her aid.

"Illyria… can you fetch some water for Buffy?" He looked at Illyria pleadingly.

Illyria stared at Angel for a moment before moving away towards the kitchen. She came back with a glass of water in her hand.

Faith took the glass and splashed some water in Buffy's face. The cool water caused Buffy to stir and wake. When she came back, Faith offered some water to her mouth for her to drink and Buffy accepted it gladly. After taking a moment to steady herself, Buffy was up on her feet.

"What happened?" Buffy looked confused. "Why was I on the ground?"

'Oh Boy' Faith thought in her mind. 'She doesn't remember. What should I do?'

Buffy looked at Faith and Angel with her confused eyes. "Guys… please tell me what happened." She demanded half and pleaded the rest.

"You fainted." Faith said being a bit uncomfortable with the situation. She looked at Angel who had a guilty look on his face.

"Why?" Buffy questioned.

"Because you got to know Spike was alive in here with Angel all this time." Faith said in one breath and was ready for Buffy to have another shock.

"What? What?" Buffy was questioning and not believing what she was hearing. Suddenly the thought of what happened before she fainted ran through her mind. She remembered what she heard from Illyria.

"I…. I…." Buffy was struggling for words. She couldn't think straight to come up with a sentence. The whole world didn't make any sense to her at the moment.

"What happened?" She asked with a squeaked whisper not directing the question to anyone. She knew only one person in the room knew the proper answer to that question.

Angel looked guilty and uncomfortable with the situation. He didn't know how to explain it to her. He cannot blame anyone or ask anyone else to explain. He was the only one left who could tell it to Buffy. And he knew what the result of that would be.

"He came back as a ghost from the amulet I gave you before the battle with the first." He said in a soft voice. He couldn't look at Buffy so he was staring at the far end of the wall.

"A ghost?" Buffy's voice was a bit louder now. She was gaining the strength to speak bit by bit.

"Ya. Close to a ghost anyway. He was tied to the Amulet. The amulet came by mail to my office." Angel replied.

"So how did he get in the fight?" Buffy found her voice now and started to think straight.

"He became corporeal about six months ago. Magic's work" Angel was wincing at the thought of series of questions he was expecting to come.

"Then why didn't he call me? Tell me he was alive? Why didn't he come back to visit me?" Buffy raised her voice by her thoughts.

"Why didn't you tell me in the first place?" She asked Angel with the sudden thought.

Angel was surprised. He was expecting questions about Spike. But he didn't expect an explanation for himself. "I… I…" It was Angel's time to run out of words.

"You didn't want him to see me did you? You didn't tell him anything about me. You didn't let him come back to me." Buffy started to blame Angel for Spike's absence.

Angel started to get angry by the accusations. "You were the one who cut all connections with me in the first place." He blurted out. "You were the one who told Andrew that I cannot be trusted anymore. And don't blame me for Spike not coming back to you. I tried to stop him at first of course. But he never listens to what I say in the first place. At first he was tied to this place when he was a ghost. But after he got corporeal, he had a chance to come back to you when Andrew was here. But he didn't. It was his decision." Angel said very quickly before thinking of what he was saying. He didn't realize what it would do to Buffy's feelings. When he did, he looked apologetic.

Buffy's expressions were unexplainable. She had a mixed of thoughts. When Angel kept on talking, she got a lot of images running in her mind along with her thoughts. She kept wondering why Spike didn't try to contact her. She couldn't explain anything. She was confused and distraught by the information Angel gave her, especially the part about Andrew.

"An… Andrew knew?" Buffy was struggling to control her emotions again.

Angel had a guilty look for the pain he caused for Buffy when he spoke. "Yes. When he was here to take Dana the Slayer back, he met Spike. And he also saw us in Rome." Angel told her not wanting to hide anything anymore from her.

"Andrew knew and he didn't tell me?" Buffy was talking to herself loudly thinking of some explanations to the actions that happened without her knowledge. Then the last words Angel spoke hit her.

"Wait a minute. You were in Rome? You and Spike? When? Why?" She started to question again afraid of the reply she was going to get.

Angel got a slight anger and sorrow feelings when he remembered the memories of that trip. "Yes. We were on a mission to retrieve a head of a demon for his family. And we heard of the Immortal hanging around near your place. So we decided to rescue you from him, only to learn that he was your boyfriend. We knew you have moved on with your life. So Spike and I decided to let you live your life without interrupting." When Angel finished, his voice sounded as if he was blaming her.

Buffy was distressed by the thought of Spike seeing her with the Immortal. She imagined the feeling he must have felt when he saw her. She felt very cheap and guilty for her actions. She tried to speak but her voice was cracking with her emotions.

"He was… he was not my boyfriend." Buffy said it finally.

"Just like Spike was huh? Let me remember what you said to me before the final battle with the first… Oh Yes. 'He was not my boyfriend. But he is in my heart.' Right?" Angel was accusing her now not regarding her emotions. Angel was hurt by the thought of her and the Immortal together. He knew Spike would have felt the same way as he did. Angel knew since Spike's return that he cared about Buffy as much as he himself did. Maybe more. He never appreciated it or acknowledged it. But right now, he knew how Spike felt.

"The Immortal was not in my heart." Buffy started to defend herself. Her voice trembling as she tried to control her feelings not willing to cry in front of Angel. "He was just convenient." She finally said it to Angel, she finally admitted it to herself.

"Just like Spike was after I left huh?" Angel said it continuing his accusation. He was too angry to think what Buffy was going through. The loss of his friends and Spike's sacrifice hit his emotions too hard that he was not looking at the emotions that were going through Buffy currently.

Angel's last statement hit Buffy very hard. Unable to control her emotions any longer, Buffy broke down and turned around running towards her room. She didn't care about the Slayers in the hall who were staring at Buffy oddly. Ever since they had known her, they had never seen her cry. So it was a shock for all of them. Buffy ran to her room and fell on top of her bed crying her eyes out. She let all her emotions of sorrow and guilt hit her and cried as much as she can determine to empty her tears.

Faith was quite all this time, seeing Buffy crying and running back, gave Angel a dirty look and started to run and follow Buffy. She saw the looks on the Slayers' faces and gave them an assuring nod that everything was all right. It calmed the junior Slayers and they returned to what they were doing. Faith went to Buffy's room and saw the other Slayer was still crying in her bed. She went close to Buffy and touched her shoulders to comfort her. Buffy turned around.

"Faith… Please leave. I want to be alone for a while." She said with her tears-filled eyes begging her to listen.

Faith realized Buffy needing some time alone, nodded her head in agreement. She started to move towards the door and looked back at Buffy to say her final words.

"B… Don't take what Angel said too seriously. He was out of his mind. Must be from the hit he got from falling down." And with that, she left the room closing the door behind her.

After Faith left, Buffy said it herself, "He was telling the truth. I _**did**_ use Spike because he was convenient." Thoughts of her having sex and beating him up ran through her mind. She remembered the way Spike tried to reach her and how she ignored and rejected him all the time. She started to feel the guilt and sorrow again and she fell back in her pillow crying. She cried herself out until she fell asleep.

After falling asleep, Buffy started to have a dream. It was too dark for her to see. She heard someone having a conversation. But she couldn't see or listen to what they say clearly. She tried to focus but failed. After a moment into their conversation, a sudden flare came into the place. She saw a figure hanging from the walls by something. She saw a demon close to where she was standing talking to that figure in the wall. The demon started to walk and she tried to move. To her surprise, she could. She moved closer and closer to the wall. When she got close, she saw the figure was human with a really bruised and burnt body. She tried to focus and something got her attention. The human's bleached shiny hair. It was unique as always to tell her it was Spike. She tried to move forward but some sort of force field blocked her from moving. She saw the demon talking to Spike. She couldn't hear anything but from the way demon was acting around Spike, she knew it was not friendly. Suddenly another two demons walked from behind towards Spike. She tried to reach them and attack them but the force field kept her from moving close to any of them. Then she saw one of the demons close to Spike taking some metallic ritual knives from the tray that the other demon was holding. It placed onto Spike's body and from the look of Spike's pained shock face, it was clear that it was a torture knife. Spike tried to hold back but when a second knife was placed close to his chest, Spike let out a chilling scream. It shook Buffy's body and she awoke from her dream crying out "_**Spike**_".

**A/N :** Another cliffhanger. Hope its good enough. PLEASE REVIEW.

**TBC…**


	9. Realization

**Chapter 8 :** Realization

**Disclaimer :** Joss Whedon owns the characters. Atleast most of them. I'm continuing the story which didn't end when he finished. Just want to have an ending.

**A/N :** Thanks for your patience. Hope the story is interesting. More chapters coming up. PLEASE REVIEW

* * *

Buffy wakes up screaming "_Spike_"…

Her scream could have been heard all around Hyperion. It disturbed a lot of slayers who were training or doing their casual jobs. Everyone thought it was a demon attack and ran to Buffy's room. Faith heard the scream too and she rushed in to see what happened. But before anyone could reach the room, Willow was the first one to find Buffy.

Willow woke up by Buffy's scream. She thought it was a nightmare and she ran to Buffy's room. She was the closest and she found Buffy curling herself in the bed trying to avoid the shivering but unable to do so. Her whole body was shaking from the dream. Willow was instantly by Buffy's side holding onto her tightly. She was trying to calm Buffy but failing miserably.

"It's ok Buffy. Everything is fine. You are safe." Willow tried to soothe Buffy by her calm voice. But Buffy was nothing but calm.

"No it's not. He's dead. He's gone. There is nothing fine with that. I'm not safe at all. Not without him" She screamed at Willow who took a step back from the sudden blast from Buffy. It has been almost a year so far and Buffy seemed to have moved on from Spike. Everyone saw Buffy happy with Immortal. Everyone thought she was having a happy satisfied life. Nobody suspected anything other than happiness in her life. Of course Willow has been out of contact for a while and it was not like it used to be. Everyone have their own separate lives now and they barely see each other regularly. But Buffy's reaction to Spike's death after a year was a surprise to Willow.

Then only Willow noticed a bunch of slayers running down the corridor to Buffy's room ready to attack. Willow quickly went to the doorstep and stopped them from entering.

"It's ok. Everything is fine. She had a bad dream. You can go back to what you were doing now." Willow sent everyone away.

Faith hesitated before moving. She thought it would be better if Willow who was Buffy's friend comforting her than herself.

Willow went back to Buffy. "Tell me what happened." Willow asked Buffy.

Buffy started to tell Willow about her dream. She told about the demon and Spike chained up and tortured. She felt the pain again that she saw on Spike's face when she remembered her dream. Willow was listening carefully not interrupting. After Buffy finished, Willow came to a conclusion.

"It's alright Buffy. It was just a bad dream. Spike cannot be tortured. He died saving the world. I think he would be in heaven right now showing his sarcasm to Angels. It must be a whole bunch of Angel versions up there brooding by now." Willow said trying to humor the situation.

Buffy got a slight smile on the thought. "Ofcourse. He must be in heaven. He cannot go to…" she struggled to say the word '_Hell_'. "If anyone deserved to go down there, it must be me. I must go there for everything I did to him and put him through." Buffy continued.

"No honey. Both of you deserve heaven. I'm sure he doesn't blame you. You didn't do anything wrong." Willow said to Buffy trying to calm her down. But it just angered her more.

"_**I Didn't Do Anything Wrong?**_" Buffy raised her voice. "I did everything wrong towards him. I used him, I hurt him, I caused him so much pain, and he didn't even want to see me when he came back." Buffy broke down when she said the last sentence and started to sob.

Willow looked confused. She didn't know what Buffy was saying. She thought Buffy must be hallucinating because of her dream. She was worried what Buffy might do now in her current stage.

"Honey. What are you talking about?" Willow asked Buffy trying to make her realize what she was saying.

"He came back and he didn't want me. He didn't love me anymore." Buffy was talking to herself while sobbing. She was trying to control her tears but it just seemed to flow.

"Ok Buffy. I don't know what you are talking about but there is one thing I know for sure. He loved you very very much. He will not want you. I can guarantee that. I know if Tara came back, she will still love me. And I love her too. I will always love her." Memories of Tara shook Willow emotionally too.

"But you didn't hurt her. You didn't make her reject your love. I hurt Spike so much he rejected my love. He didn't want to be with me. That's what he said before he died in Sunnydale and that's why he didn't come to me." Buffy was crying harder now and fell back into the bed pushing her head into the pillow as much as she can.

Willow didn't understand what was going on. She was lost in thoughts. She didn't know what to do or how to get Buffy out of this trance. She thought of having a moment for herself to clear her mind. She decided to go downstairs to get something to drink and freshen up.

"Buffy… I'll go downstairs and be back soon ok? I'm not leaving you. I'll be back in a quick minute ok honey?" Buffy didn't say anything so Willow decided to take that as a yes. She opened the door and went out down the stairs. Faith was downstairs talking to some slayers. When she saw Willow, she went to her.

"So how's B?"

"Pretty shook up. Something must have reminded her of Spike. She had a bad nightmare and she is hallucinating now. She keeps on blabbering about Spike not loving her." Willow said trying to make some sense to herself.

"The last time I saw Blondie, he was whipped in love with her. But who knows? One whole year may change a person's feelings." Faith said it but she wasn't sure she believed it herself.

"Now what are _You_ talking about? Spike has been dead for a whole year and Buffy has moved on. When we were in Sunnydale, before the final battle I saw the love Spike showed for Buffy. He was arguing with us for throwing her out of the house remember?" Willow said remembering the last moments with Spike. She always felt for Spike as Tara did. They didn't believe he was really a bad evil demon. He was more human-like than other demons.

"I'm not talking about that year. I'm talking about last year." Faith said not remembering Willow didn't know about Spike.

"What are you talking about? Spike fell out of love with Buffy after turning into ashes?" Willow was lost in confusion.

"Oh. I'm sorry. You don't know about Spike being alive do you? I mean he was dead but he was not ashes. He was here working with Angel." Faith said clearing the confusions.

"WHAT?" Willow was shocked. She almost fainted when she heard Spike was alive. But she composed herself. Now everything made sense to her. She understood what Buffy was talking about when she said he didn't love her anymore. She was confused as to why he didn't try to see Buffy after coming alive.

"Then why didn't he go meet Buffy? Why didn't he come to us?" She asked Faith.

"That's the million dollar question right now. As far as I know, he came back from the amulet to Angel as a ghost. He became corporeal six months ago. Then he joined Angel's team to fight against evil. And he died again now in this battle." Faith said with a bit of grief for Spike. She found him attractive when she met him but kept her distance from him. She knew it would hurt Buffy and she didn't want to do anything like that. And then Spike died and she lit a candle for him in the church.

"And why didn't he come to see Buffy?" Willow asked Faith still confused. She is trying to reason all the thoughts.

"I'm not sure. Angel said something about both of them going to Rome and seeing Buffy with Immortal. Both of them left without waiting. So basically that's all I know." Faith finished her story.

"Oh Dear." Willow said with a shock. She couldn't imagine what Spike must have felt like to see Buffy with Immortal. She remembered seeing Tara talking with another woman before and feeling jealousy. She decided to get the story straight and moved towards Angel's room.

When she got to the room, she saw Angel sitting up on the bed looking at the rooftop of the room. She saw how beaten up he is. It seemed the blood has helped him heal but not quite enough. She felt sorry for him for a moment. 'He has lost all his friends and family.' She thought in her mind. But she remembered seeing Buffy broken and crying and that made her remember why she was there.

She went towards Angel. Angel sensed her long before and he said "Hey Willow" trying to be cheerful but failing. He didn't look down but he nodded her to sit on the bed. Willow sat down thinking what she should say.

"Why didn't you tell us?" She finally asked.

"I couldn't. I don't know why. Maybe it wasn't my secret to reveal. Maybe I didn't want him to go. I just don't know the reason. I just didn't."

"I'm sorry for you. But that doesn't make you the victim in this situation. You excuses are not worthy of any. You don't know how much you have hurt Buffy." Willow said feeling the anger inside her.

"Maybe she's better off without him." Angel said it without thinking. But that statement made Willow go off the wall and brought out all the anger inside her.

"Better off with who? _You_? Don't you think if she wanted to be with you after he died, she would have done so after Sunnydale going down? Why would she move on to Immortal?" Willow said with her raised voice.

Thought of Immortal brought anger to Angel too. "She moved on didn't she? That's the point. She moved and she can move on again too."

Willow looked at Angel with disgust. She got off the bed and moved away to the door. Before she left, she said her final words.

"I thought you had a good side in you. That's why I kept on helping you every time you lost your soul. But now I have to wonder whether you really have a soul. And even if you do, I think it is not with goodness of heart. I personally think Spike without a soul had better concern than you with your soul. He cared for everyone and I would bet my life if the situation was reversed, he would have told Buffy about you regardless of his feelings." Willow said it and left the room slamming the door behind her with force.

Angel stared at the door for a moment and got back to staring at the rooftop.

Willow went upstairs to Buffy. She found her holding onto her pillow still sobbing. Her tears have stopped probably from all the crying and she was mourning now. Willow felt terrible for Buffy. She didn't know what she would have done if she was in Buffy's place. Willow remembered herself trying to destroy the world when Tara died. Lucky for her, Xander was there to help her come over it. She knew she must be there for Buffy to help her through this.

She went and sat in the bed near to where Buffy had her head in the pillow. She started to softly caress Buffy's head trying to calm her down. It calmed Buffy and the sobbing started to stop slowly. She felt Buffy's body relax and then Buffy turned her head to look at Willow.

"Thanks Will" Buffy murmured with soft voice.

Willow heard it and she gave a slight smile. "We must be there for each other right?" Buffy nodded her head in agreement and placed her head onto Willow's lap. She said to Willow in soft voice, "Next time I die, please don't bring me back." Willow was shocked by that statement but she knew Buffy's state at the moment. So she decided to let it slip. She sat there while Buffy fell asleep with her head on Willow's lap. And after Buffy falling into deep sleep, Willow pushed her head to the pillow and closed the door silently on her way out.

**A/N :** Touching moments. I would like to state right now that this is a SPUFFY story and not Willow/Buffy story. So don't get any wrong ideas. They are best friends and best friends help each other on difficult situations. You will see how in the upcoming chapters. PLEASE REVIEW.

**TBC…**


	10. Slayer Dreams

**Chapter 9 :** Slayer Dreams

**Disclaimer :** Joss Whedon owns the characters. Atleast most of them. I'm continuing the story which didn't end when he finished. Just want to have an ending.

**A/N :** Thanks for your patience. Hope the story is interesting. More chapters coming up. PLEASE REVIEW

* * *

Spike is awakening from the pain he felt before passing out. He was still feeling the healing of the wounds in his chest. It felt a lot like how it was when he was captured by the first. Except he knew there is no Buffy to come for his rescue this time. He was mentally scared that he will be suffering like this for a long time. But he didn't want to show that to his torturers. It will be what they want and he will be damned before giving them what they want.

He saw the flare in the room still burning and there is nobody in the room but himself. He looked down at his chest seeing all the blood that has flown through his wounds created a pool in the floor. He didn't know what the demon wanted. He didn't know what he could to escape. All he knew was that whatever it is, he is all alone in this hell.

'Is this hell? Am I in hell?' Spike wondered.

Just then he heard footsteps coming into the room. He saw the same demon that was there earlier.

"Ah. You are awake. I was wondering how long it would take you to wake up. Vampires are quick healers aren't they?" The W&H questioned knowing the answer.

"I don't drink human blood you bloody ponce." Spike hissed.

"Weakness of being ensouled I see. Anyway, we should get down to business."

"What do you want from me?" Spike asked the demon weakly.

"Nothing but the pleasure of watching you being tortured. See… I had this plan to get in your dimension. But unfortunately some vampires with souls decided to play the hero and screwed up my plans. Now I will have to redo some of my work. Not a total loss I must say. But it was a step back for me. And I don't like step backs. So, I get some satisfaction of torturing one of the people who caused my step back." W&H explained.

"Torture all you want. But I don't think you can break me anytime soon. Vampire remember? Have healing powers unlike mortals."

"I see you have a point in there. I do think that physical pain is something you are willing to bear. I guess I should take another approach then." With that, W&H moved to a corner in the room and started to meditate. Spike wondered what he was doing but his question was answered after a couple of minutes.

A woman reminding Spike a lot of Drusilla came into the room. W&H glanced at her pleased to see his telepathy has succeeded. She walked around as if she was floating in the air. She looked lost just like Drusilla.

"What made you call me old friend?" the lady asked W&H.

"I believe I have a gift for you."

"I hope it is worthy than the last gift. It still roams in my thoughts very often." The woman seemed to be disturbed by the thought.

"Of course Maricca. This gift is worthier than any other. This is a vampire who was gifted with a soul. He was the Scourge of Europe. He was part of Order of Aurelius. He has lived for over a century and has memories of it. I believe it could satisfy your hunger." W&H said quickly trying to get rid of the past thoughts from Maricca.

"A vampire with a soul huh? A rare occurrence indeed. Is he a powerful one?" she questioned.

"Yes. He wrecked Europe along with some other vampires for almost a century. He was known for his style with railroad spikes. He got his name because of it."

"Impressive. If I get what I want, you will get what you need." With that, Maricca walked towards Spike standing very close to him.

"Hey little fella. Don't worry about a thing. Mommy will take care of you." She brushed her backhand slightly over Spike's cheekbones. She was acting as if she was touching him when in reality she did not. She seemed to get some feelings when she did that.

"I'm not anyone's little fella." Spike said with trying show his anger through his tone.

"Don't worry. This won't hurt…" She said and she brought her hands in front of Spike's eyes. Her fingernails suddenly started to grow. They were becoming like long needles. She brought her hands to either side of his head and in one swift motion, pushed the fingers in both hands into Spike's head reaching into his brains with her nails. Spike screamed in pain. She finished her sentence with "much."

* * *

After Buffy falling asleep, she drifted onto her dream again. She was in the room as she was before. But this time, the light was there. She saw another two figures near the wall. They were close to the chained body which Buffy guessed Spike this time. Buffy got close but only up to a distance. She saw the two figures now. She cannot recognize them other than they were demons. One was a woman who was a lot like a human but something in her made Buffy know that she was indeed a demon. The other demon was the man Buffy saw earlier in her dream. The woman now was talking to Spike and then she saw the fingernails in the woman's hands started to grow. She saw the woman bringing her hand close to Spike's head and pushed her fingers into his head. Buffy shivered with terror when she heard Spike's scream. She saw his face falling down into unconscious. She could feel the pain he was feeling and it was unbearable.

Buffy woke up from her dream shivering with the pain that she felt in her dream. She cannot figure out why she was having these dreams. She didn't know what else to do but let the others know about the dreams. She decided the only person she could tell right now was Willow. She reached the door and thought about calling out. But she decided against it as to not alert the other Slayers. She went downstairs and found Willow in the library reading some book Angel kept for reference. When she reached the doorstep of the room, Willow sensed someone and looked up to see Buffy.

"Hey Buffy. Why are you up? Did you have a nice sleep?" Willow questioned.

"Actually No. That's why I came here to talk to you."

Willow frowned. Buffy's voice seemed distressed. Something other than Spike's death is affecting her. "Come and sit here" she pointed a chair next to her to Buffy.

Buffy walked in and sat on the chair. Willow took Buffy's hands feeling the cold in them. She felt the shiver Buffy was having.

"Buffy. Are you feeling ok? You seemed to be shaking."

"I've been having these dreams. Dreams about…" Buffy wondered how to say it for a moment. But in the end, she decided to tell it straight. "Spike." She finally blurted out.

"What kind of dreams?" In any other occasion, Willow would have teased her friend on her confession. But this is not a humorous time. Matter seems to be very serious.

"I'm not sure. It was similar like the earlier dream. I think they are Slayer dreams. But I'm not the only Slayer anymore. Everyone should feel it right?" Buffy asked confused.

"Right. As far as I know, none of the Slayers have mentioned anything about dreams. So I guess it is only you. Can you tell me more about these dreams?"

"It is not very pleasant. Actually all I see is Spike chained up to a wall and some demons torturing him. He seems to be in great pain."

"Wait a minute… you said dreams, as in plural. How many have you had so far?" Willow asked remembering Buffy's earlier dream.

"Two so far. Ever since I got to know that he was… was…" Buffy struggled to say the words.

"I understand." Willow intervened. She understood what Buffy must be going through. But she didn't know what she could do to help Buffy.

"Can I suggest something?" Willow asked after a moment of thinking.

"What?"

"I was planning on contacting Giles & Dawn. Xander must be there now with them. Why don't we ask them to come down here? Giles must know what these dreams mean and Dawn & Xander will be helpful to clean up this mess here." Willow suggested.

"I don't want to bring Xander & Dawn into this right now. L.A. is not a safe place at the moment."

"As if Sunnydale was. Besides, they have grown up a lot Buffy. I think they can take care of themselves." Willow argued. She wanted them to be here so that Buffy could have all the support she can have.

"Ok. I guess Dawn need to know about him too." Buffy said unconvinced. She was not strong enough to talk to Dawn about Spike. She didn't know what or how she could explain it. The only person other than herself who cared about Spike was her little sister.

"Great. I'll call them right away." Willow rushed to the phone before Buffy changed her mind.

Buffy slowly walked her way to the office of Angel Investigations. Willow was on the phone.

"Yes Giles. Everything went ok. Have some casualties though. Will explain when we see each other."

Buffy couldn't hear the reply on the other end of the phone.

"Did Xander arrive from Africa?"

"Great. Can you do me a favor and bring Dawn & Xander along with you here. We have a situation that needs all of you."

Buffy saw Willow tensed a moment before replying on the phone.

"No Giles. Buffy is ok. It is something else. A Slayer situation if you must know. Please come here. I'll explain everything when you come here ok? It is urgent so come as fast as you can."

Willow relaxed on hearing the reply.

"Thanks. Come to the Hyperion. Ya. The same place. I'll see you tomorrow morning then." With that, she hung up the phone and turned to Buffy.

"They are catching tonight's plane. Seems like its free since it is not vacation time. And Watcher Council has privileges on traveling. They'll arrive by tomorrow early morning."

Buffy saw outside the window and noticed it was dark. She didn't know what to do until then. She was scared to go back to sleep. She didn't want the dreams to come back again. She decided she could patrol since there are a lot of demons around now in L.A.

"I'll go on a patrol and come back soon." Buffy said to Willow.

Willow didn't know what to do. She didn't want Buffy to be alone and in danger. Buffy was not stable in her current situation. But she didn't want to force Buffy to sit around and wait as well. It might do harm than good. Finally she decided to let Buffy be on her way.

"Ok. But take Faith with you as a precaution. Don't want you to feel alone right now."

"I'm already alone." Buffy whispered softly. "But to satisfy you, I'll take Faith with me." Looking at her friend's disturbed face; Buffy said "I'll be careful. I promise." Buffy saw her friend's face getting some sort of satisfaction by her promise.

Both of them walked out of the office into the Slayers' training room. As expected, they found Faith sparring with some junior Slayer. Buffy called out to Faith.

"Hey Faith, how about we both go out hunt some demons?"

Hearing Buffy's voice, Faith knew Buffy needed distraction so she decided to play along. "Cool B. I'll be with you in a moment." With that, Faith took down the junior Slayer with a scissor lock to her feet and helped her get up.

"You girls keep training harder. Don't want you to fumble during a fight." She ordered the girls and moved on to where Buffy was standing.

"Impressive." Buffy said.

"Thanks B. So you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be."

With that, both senior Slayers moved to the door exiting to the alleyway.

**A/N :** PLEASE REVIEW.

**TBC…**


	11. Scooby Gang Back Again

**Chapter 10 :** Scooby Gang Back Again

**Disclaimer :** Joss Whedon owns the characters. Atleast most of them. I'm continuing the story which didn't end when he finished. Just want to have an ending.

**A/N :** Thanks for your patience. Hope the story is interesting. More chapters coming up. PLEASE REVIEW

* * *

When Buffy returned with Faith, both of them were covered with demon blood. Willow noticed both of them and frowned. Both of them didn't seem to happy about the way they look.

"Will… These demons need to just dust like vampires instead of turning into a whole glob of demon yuck." Faith exclaimed.

"I'm sorry. I'll let them know as soon as possible." Willow chuckled at Faith's remarks.

Faith made a face and looked at Buffy. "I'm going to take a bath and clean up. See you later B." With that, Faith moved quickly to the bathroom.

Buffy just nodded and turned to Willow. "More demons than I expected. Something is definitely wrong here Will. Not only vampires but there are other demons I've never met before."

Willow listened carefully without interrupting. After Buffy finished, she said, "Ok. We'll take care of everything when Giles gets here. Right now you go take a shower."

With a gentle push, Buffy walked to the bathroom she had in her room.

After a while, Faith walked into the library looking for Willow.

"Hey Will. Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure Faith. What's up?"

"How is Buffy doing? I know it's hard to handle all the stuff going on right now. But I felt a lot of anger in here. When we went on patrol, we came up with a bunch of demons. Usually it would have been real hard to fight with them. But this time, she just killed them as if they were nothing. She killed most of the demons on patrol." Faith explained.

"She's going through a lot right now. Seems like she is having dreams of Spike being tortured by demons. Don't know what they actually mean."

"Slayer dreams?" Faith questioned.

"Not sure yet."

"But it can't be. I mean if it is Slayer dreams, all the girls should have it right?" Faith asked the question she had in her mind.

"Don't know. Giles is coming here in a while to find out for us."

"Ok. The big Watcher is coming huh? I'll be resting until he comes." With that, Faith walked back to her room. It was obvious that she was not the biggest fan of the Watcher. Willow sighed watching Faith leave. She didn't like the way she felt. Hopeless and unable to do anything to help her friend through this.

* * *

It was morning when Willow heard a car stopping in front of Hyperion. Willow knew who it could be so she walked down to the hallway ready to greet her friends. The door busted open and in came the rest of the Scooby gang along with Kennedy. Willow was surprised to see her girlfriend there. Before she came to L.A., Kennedy went on a mission to retrieve a girl from Asia. Willow didn't expect her to come back soon.

"Hey Kennedy." Willow walked down and gave her a kiss.

"Hey Xander. Nice to see you again." Xander seemed to be pleased to see Willow too.

"Hey Will. After long time I must say. I missed you a lot you know? It would have been better if you were there with me in Africa. Could have used a friend like you down there. People are not really welcoming in the beginning." Xander was remembering his moments before coming back to reality.

Dawn was there too along with Xander. She came in front and gave Willow a brief hug. She looked around before asking Willow "Where is Buffy?"

Willow was troubled. She didn't want Dawn to see Buffy in her current state. "She's in her room." When she saw Dawn moving to the stairs to look for Buffy, she stopped her. "I don't think it's a good idea to go see her now."

"Why not? Is she ok?" Dawn seemed alarmed. Willow saw the look on Xander & Kennedy too and knew everyone was getting tensed by her statement.

"She's alright. She's taking a rest after the big battle and last night's patrol. There is nothing to worry about. I need you guys to come with me to the library though."

Just then Giles walked in with their luggages. "I could use a hand in here." When he saw Willow, he left everything by the doorstep and went to hug her. "It is a pleasant to see you Willow."

Willow found the comfort she needed at the moment in Watcher's hold. She got her strength back and said "Can everyone follow me to the library?" When she saw everyone nodding in agreement, she turned around and saw Rebecca walking down the hallway.

"Rebecca, can you do me a favor and get the luggages to any of the empty rooms?" Rebecca noticed the visitors and lightened up when she saw Giles there. He was the Watcher who brought her to the Slayer world. She went and gave him a hug before moving to the door to get the luggages.

Willow and the rest of the Scooby gang moved to the library. She closed the door when everyone sat around the table. A bunch of books Willow was reading was laid down open. Giles glanced through the book and saw a lot of black magic books in there. He got a nervous itch in his stomach.

"What's going on Willow?" He asked with a narrowed expression.

Willow saw where Giles' eyes were looking at before and knew what he was thinking. "Oh no. I'm not into the black magic thing again. They are long gone. I had to use it during the battle but I had it under control. I've had a lot of help in Brazil to train to keep it under control." Willow blabbered trying to make it easier.

Kennedy took hold of her girlfriend's hand to comfort her. Willow eased up a bit before starting to talk again.

"There is a lot of explaining to do. So please let me finish without interrupting please?" Seeing everyone nod, she continued. "When we came to L.A., the battle has already started. It was not against Angel for starters. He was fighting against the demons that came through a portal when he took down Wolfram and Hart."

She saw various emotions running through Giles' mind. She didn't know what was disturbing him. So she decided to continue. "Angel and his friends took down the firm and it must have caused the rage of demon attack. We got here in time to help them out. Five of our Slayers died in the battle. And two of Angel's friends died too." Willow didn't want to tell them about Spike at the moment.

Giles was disturbed by the news. He was feeling guilty for ignoring Angel's distress call some time ago when he assumed Angel was evil. He didn't know what to do to explain his motives. And he couldn't help but feel that his action could have avoided this battle in the first place.

Xander who was not aware of the emotions running through the Witch and the Watcher wanted to continue the conversation.

"So what was the big emergency about?"

Willow got back from her thoughts about Spike. She hesitated trying to find out the right way to explain it. She saw the annoying look on Dawn's face and anxious look on Xander and Kennedy's face. Willow decided to break the news to her friends.

"The emergency is about…" she took a second to breathe out the name "Spike".

There was a sudden silence in the room. Everyone's expressions changed in a moment. Giles' expression changed to feeling guiltier of remembering his thoughts of Spike. Xander's expression was unreadable. He was not the biggest fan of Spike but after his sacrifice, Xander never made a bad comment at all about him. So his emotions were mixed. Dawn's look gave away the pain she felt hearing his name again. She missed him a lot like Buffy but hid her emotions from everyone. Since nobody spoke about him in the past year, the emotions never came out. But now hearing his name, it brought back the emotions again. Kennedy stayed clear since she had no feelings about the vampire. She didn't know him well enough to care about him.

After a moment, Xander cleared his throat and asked the question everyone was thinking.

"What about Spike?"

Now Willow was scared of what the reaction might be upon hearing the truth. But it has to be told to everyone. So she readied herself for it.

"We all know Spike sacrificed himself to save the world. We knew he burned up into ashes along with Sunnydale's destruction. What we didn't know is that he was stuck in the amulet that destroyed everything in hellmouth." Willow continued without looking at the confused and surprised faces. "The amulet was sent to Angel where he came out undead as a ghost." She heard gasps from the listeners. Dawn was shocked and Xander was pale. Giles looked confused and lost. Willow decided to continue.

"He was here with Angel and his friends until he became corporeal six months ago. He joined Angel's team to fight the evil and he was involved in the final battle with the demon army." Willow stopped to see anyone having any reactions.

The Scooby gang was lost out of words. They didn't know what to say or where to start. Finally Dawn asked the question. "Whe… Where is he?" she finally found her voice to raise the question.

Willow didn't know how to break the news. She knew the answer will break Dawn's heart. She finally found the strength to tell the sad news. "He died in the battle." She saw the pain in Dawn's face upon hearing the news.

Dawn felt like someone have stabbed her heart at that moment. When she heard Spike was alive again, she felt shock but a slight sensation of happiness too. She thought she could have a chance to be with him again. She wanted to talk with her friend after long time. But when she heard that he died again, she felt the pain she felt when Sunnydale was destroyed only this time it was double. She couldn't hold on to the pain anymore and she broke into a cry. She cried so hard and let all her emotions flow through. She felt someone holding her. She looked up to see Xander who was sitting next to her embrace her. She saw some pain in his eyes too and she felt glad that he was missing Spike too. She held on to him and continued to cry.

Giles was lost for words with the situation. He didn't like Spike hanging around Buffy but after his sacrifice and saving the world, he seemed to accept Spike as a good guy in the team. Upon hearing his return and his death, he felt sorrow from his heart for the vampire. It was something he would have never imagined himself feeling especially for a vampire like Spike. He had a lot of questions such as 'Why didn't Spike come back to Buffy? Why didn't he try to contact the Watchers' Council? Why didn't Angel let them know?' Upon remembering Angel, he wondered whether it was the news Angel wanted to say the last time he called and wanting Willow.

Kennedy who didn't share any emotions of the rest of them feeling remained silent. She waited until she couldn't take it no more. So she decided to talk by herself. She turned to Willow and raised the question.

"So what is the big emergency? I know he was back alive and all that but he is dead now right? Why is it urgent enough for us to rush in?" She questioned and got a reply she never would have imagined.

A slap from someone made her head spinning for a minute. She least expected that and it caught her off guard. When she regained herself, she looked at the eyes of a teenager full of rage and hatred. She immediately realized what she said and felt guilty for saying it out loud.

"How dare you speak like that? He meant a lot to some of us if you care to know. Every bit of information about him is urgent to us and if you don't like it, you can get back to wherever the hell you came from." Dawn yelled at the Slayer.

Willow was having confused feelings. She was feeling shocked on her girlfriend's response to the news and she was more shocked when she saw Dawn slapping the Slayer without any fear and full of anger. "I'm sorry for what Kennedy said Dawn" she looked apologetic to the teenager. "But there is something else that needed some attention." Willow said looking at Giles. He steadied himself and got ready for the information.

"After the battle, Buffy started to have dreams of Spike being tortured. She has had two dreams so far. She thinks they are Slayer dreams but only she seems to be having them. That's why we needed you to figure it out for us."

"Are you sure it is Slayer dreams?" Giles asked Willow.

"Yes" The answer came from the doorway. Everyone turned to see the door open with Buffy standing there with her arms crossed looking at them.

**A/N :** PLEASE REVIEW.

**TBC…**


	12. Research

**Chapter 11 :** Research

**Disclaimer :** Joss Whedon owns the characters. Atleast most of them. I'm continuing the story which didn't end when he finished. Just want to have an ending.

**A/N :** Thanks for your patience. Hope the story is interesting. More chapters coming up. PLEASE REVIEW

* * *

Buffy stood there emotionless looking at the people sitting in the table. She saw Giles sitting close to Willow and Kennedy with a cheek red with five finger marks in it. And she saw Dawn crying in the shoulders of Xander who looked like he was on the verge of crying too. She immediately knew they knew about Spike. 

Upon seeing Buffy, Dawn broke her hold on Xander and ran to Buffy. She embraced her and didn't want to let her go. She felt Buffy holding her with the same strength for a minute before easing up. Buffy walked down to the table with Dawn still clutching onto her. Both of them sat together in the empty chairs in the table. Buffy turned towards everyone in the table giving them a nod before giving her sister a hug. Then letting go of her, she turned towards Giles.

"Yes Giles. I know it is Slayer dreams. Because I felt it. I felt the pain he felt. It was horrible. I don't think dreams can be that effective." Buffy said with confident.

"I understand Buffy. But maybe this is happening because of his loss. We all feel the pain of losing him here. But you must be affected most by it. And it may be the reason of your dreams." Giles said trying to convince her.

"Maybe I'm going to say the wrong thing and if I do, I'm sorry for it." Kennedy spoke breaking their argument. "But doesn't vampires go to hell after they die? I mean I agree Spike did a good thing on saving the world. And he has been good for a while now. But still it doesn't cover up all the sins he did when he was a vampire right?"

Everyone looked at her with various expressions. Dawn and Buffy were showing clear anger towards her and Willow seemed to be upset by her remark. Xander was showing anger and frustration while Giles seemed to be considering her thoughts. She immediately backed out. "I'm just saying."

A loud rude response of " i NO /i " from both sisters made her shut up.

"I would have to agree with what she said." A voice near the door said. Everyone turned and saw Angel walking into the library with the help of Faith. He saw everyone in the table and his gaze finally found the Watcher. He suddenly changed into his game face preparing to attack him. But Faith held him back. Giles got alerted by the reaction and knew it was his fault.

"How dare you come into my place?" Angel hissed in anger.

"I came because Willow asked me to." Giles replied with guilt in his tone.

"Now you can come but you can't come when we need you here huh?" Angel said with a mocked anger tone.

"What is he talking about?" Willow asked totally confused.

"We can deal with that later. There are more important issues right now." Buffy said trying to break the tension between them. Willow looked at Buffy and Buffy mouthed 'I'll tell you later'. Willow seemed to be ok with that and settled down.

Angel and Faith took the final seats in the table. Angel saw the looks he was getting from the people in the table and remembered what he said finally.

"I think I know what she was talking about vampires going to hell." Angel said it again. "After Spike came back as a ghost, he was being haunted by another evil spirit in the building."

"A ghost being haunted? Now that's the first time I've heard it." Xander said looking at the humor in that situation. He realized the seriousness and said "I'm sorry. Please continue."

"Spike told me he was slipping into hell. It was the spirit's doing but it was trying to feed the hell demons the sinned soul. I don't think saving the world would allow the vampire to go to heaven." Angel finally said it.

"No. Spike cannot go to hell. He was a champion. He was a hero. He deserves to be happy." Dawn exclaimed and broke down again. Buffy held her to comfort her but it worked only a little as Buffy herself was feeling the need to cry.

"I understand what you say and I don't know anything for sure. It seems to be a possibility too. That's all I'm trying to point out." Angel said to the group.

Buffy finally regaining herself, turned to Giles. "Can you do me a favor and do a research for me on this please?" She asked pleadingly. Giles nodded and Buffy turned to Dawn. "Come on. I'll take you to your room." With that, they walked out of the library to the hall. They found Rebecca and asked where Dawn was staying. She was close to Buffy's room and both of them walked back together.

In the study room, Giles was tensed. He didn't know how to act towards Angel. He decided to ask for forgiveness from a vampire. This would be another thing he would not have imagined. 'This day is not my lucky day' he thought for himself. Finally getting the courage, he said "I feel the need to apologize for my misunderstanding of you Angel. I came to a conclusion before knowing the facts."

Angel didn't seem to be very forgiving though. "You can tell that to Fred's soul after you die." He said glaring at the Watcher.

Understanding the words Angel said finally, Giles felt more guiltier than ever. His action has caused someone their life and he was responsible. He was ashamed of himself and didn't know what to do at that point.

Willow was shocked at the news. She didn't notice Fred's missing before. Now she realized it. "Fred is dead?" she asked Angel disbelievingly. Angel turned towards her and said "Illyria is Fred. She took control of Fred's body thanks to your Watcher here." Willow didn't know how to react. She liked Fred the last time she was there. Now she missed the girl who was innocent and kind and reminded a lot of Tara. She felt tears falling down her eyes. She was angry at Giles for whatever mistake he made. She decided she needed a time alone and walked out of the room. Xander saw Willow leave and walked with her.

"Hey G. Maybe this is not the good time but I need you to know something." Faith started talking after all the walking away.

Giles got his attention back at the Slayer and listened to her.

"There were a lot of demon activities outside man. And they were not vampires. It was all sorts of demons. Some are quite strong. Very unusual activity. You need to check on that too."

"Maybe there is some connection to Buffy's dreams and demon activities." Giles started to wonder.

"Must be another attack Wolfram and Hart are preparing for." Angel shrugged his shoulder upon saying that. He didn't feel like fighting for anyone anymore. All his friends have died and he doesn't see a purpose in fighting the good fight.

"Why do you say that? I thought you took them down" Giles asked while Faith and Kennedy listened.

"Don't you people ever get the proper information? Wolfram and Hart has been here for many centuries. They are there in many dimensions. You can't destroy them by destroying a building and a bunch of big heads. I just delayed their control over this world. They will be back."

"Then we must be ready for them. Faith, you and Kennedy go prepare all the Slayers. I'll do some research and find more information." Giles started to give the orders.

"Don't you get it? You can't beat them. Not with a bunch of Slayers and a powerful Witch. They are very strong and very powerful. When they attack in full force, we will not be able to survive." Angel said it with a depressed tone.

"We have got to try." With that, Giles moved to look for information on the books available in the library. Angel got up and walked towards the kitchen to find more blood. Faith and Kennedy went to find the Slayers to get them prepared.

* * *

Spike awoke with a very bad headache. Something was banging inside his head. He couldn't figure out what it was. He felt the blood dripping through his nose. It was like he got a chip in his head that is electrocuting him from the inside. He looked around seeing nobody in the room.

Then he heard a very familiar laughing voice coming from the end of the room. He tried to put a face to the voice but couldn't do so. He hasn't heard that for a while now.

"How are you feelin Willy?" With that, he knew who it was.

"Angelus?" Spike questioned wondering how he was there. 'Did Angel lose his soul again?'

"Yes my boy. It's your grand sire here. Seems like you've gotten pretty weak from all this time. Falling in love with the slayer. Saving the world from hell. Sacrificing yourself to save the ones you love. Not a good resume for a vampire you know?" Angelus mocked him.

"You are not here. I'm hallucinating." Spike said it out loud trying to convince himself.

"I'm not real huh? Then how can I do this?" With that, Angelus punched Spike across his face. It was a hard blow and knocked Spike's head into dizziness.

"There is a lot you need to learn my boy. Remember the torture you did to me when you came to L.A.?" Angelus showed a bucket with hot pokers. Spike remembered that time and knew what was going to happen.

"This is my time to return the favor to my grand childe" With that, Angelus took a poker and stabbed it hard right close to the heart. Spike screamed in pain.

"There my boy. Scream out louder." Another poker stabbed him through. Spike was struggling to keep quiet but when a third poker stabbed him hard right into his heart, he gave up and gave a loud scream.

"This is going to be so much fun." Angelus laughed and continued his treatment.

* * *

Far in the room, Maricca and W&H was standing watching Spike hanging from the chain screaming in pain. There was no one with him but Spike's body was bleeding and seemed to be in torture. Maricca was feeling the effect from Spike and W&H watched it calmly with a grim in his face.

"So how is his soul feeling?" W&H asked Maricca.

"Beautiful. His soul is filled with pain and suffering. And the torture of his soul is so beautiful. It is a perfect gift for me. I can live with these memories for a long time."

"Well… You feed on his soul as much as you want. But I need my return of the deal." W&H said not forgetting his aim.

"Don't worry old friend. Your army is being created as we speak. The more I feed, the stronger I get. And it will bring you more army."

"Then I'll leave you to it." With that, W&H left the room still hearing Spike's screams.

**A/N :** PLEASE REVIEW.

**TBC…**


	13. Finding Spike

**Chapter 12 :** Finding Spike

**Disclaimer :** Joss Whedon owns the characters. Atleast most of them. I'm continuing the story which didn't end when he finished. Just want to have an ending.

**A/N :** Thanks for your patience. Hope the story is interesting. More chapters coming up. PLEASE REVIEW

* * *

Giles slammed the book he was holding in the table with exhaustion. He removed his glasses and wiped them clean thinking of what he should do next. He has been researching through the books available in the library for a day now. So far, he couldn't find any evidence as to where Spike could be or what he was facing. To be honest, he doesn't even know what he was hoping to get from his research. He knew there was a slim chance that the necessary information will be available. He started because he didn't want to disappoint Buffy by saying 'No'. 

"Still no luck I guess." Willow said while walking into the room.

Giles turned to acknowledge Willow before turning back to the book pile in front of him. "No. I don't know what I am looking for. It's not likely that someone would have researched on where a vampire with a soul goes after saving the world."

Willow chuckled at his comment. 'Giles still has some humor left in him' Willow thought.

"So how come you didn't tell me about Fred's death?" Willow asked the question wanting to clear the air between them.

Giles shuddered with guilt for a moment before answering, "I didn't know someone's life was at stake. When Angel called me wanting your help, I thought he needed something in black magic. At that period of time, I was under the impression he has turned evil and was running the evil law firm. Only half of it seems to be true and there were reasons behind it I assume."

Willow nodded understandingly. "I understand what you are trying to say Giles. But I need to remind you that it is my decision in the end. You are trying to control the decisions we take in our lives and while it seems very protective, it also irritates the hell out of us. Please trust in us and let us decide." Willow said convincingly.

Giles nodded in agreement. Both of them started back at the books with a feeling of some weight off his shoulder. 'Atleast Willow was not angry with me' Giles thought.

He read about souls being tortured for the sins they have committed in their lives. "This does not look good." Giles murmured with a low voice.

* * *

Spike has passed away again out of the pain Angelus caused him. He was sure at first that it was not Angelus. But after feeling the hot pokers through his body, he was not sure anymore. Then he heard a faint voice in the room. It was as if someone was singing. 

"Oh, don't deceive me. Oh, never leave me. How could you use a poor maiden so?" the voice echoed over the walls. Spike knew who the voice belonged to.

"Mother?" Spike questioned with the voice he had left in him.

"Hello, William."

She came out of the dark and stood in front of Spike. She looked just like how she was before he killed her. Her hair was down let loose and she looked like she was young.

"You are dead. I killed you." Spike said with a shocked voice.

"Oh. You thought you did son. After all, you died but came back alive didn't you? Why can't a poor old lady like me come back?"

"No. You can't. You are dead. This is not real."

"I feel extraordinary. It's as though I've been given new eyes. I see everything. Understand... everything."

"No" Spike whimpered softly.

"I hate to be cruel— No, I don't. I used to hate to be cruel in life. Now, I find it rather freeing. Nothing less will pry your greedy little fingers off my apron strings, will it?"

"Please. Stop." Spike begged.

"Ever since the day you first slithered from me like a parasite..."

William's mother looked at him for a moment. Then raised a question.

"Tell me son. Have you found the woman you want?"

Spike just had his head down. His mother gave him a smile as if he was pathetic.

"God, I prayed you'd find a woman to release me, but you scarcely showed an interest. Who could compare to your doddering housebound mum? A captive audience for your witless prattle."

Spike kept quiet and she continued to taunt him.

"Darling, I told you once before. You'll always be a limp... sentimental fool."

Spike didn't say anything but just tried to control his emotions.

"You want to get away from here, don't you? Scamper off and cry to your new little trollop. Do you really think you love her? Think you'll be able to touch her without feeling me? All you ever wanted was to be back inside. You finally got your wish, didn't you? Sank your teeth into me. An eternal kiss. Made me who I am."

Spike couldn't speak. He just gave her pleading look begging her to stop.

"There, there, precious. It will only hurt for a moment." With that, she struck a wooden cane similar like the one he used on her into his right side of his chest. It hurted like hell. But he was alive to feel it.

"I'm Sorry." Spike whispered the last words to her.

Spike broke down and started to feel the tears running down his eyes. It was not from the physical pain he had but the emotion pain he felt seeing his mother and hearing the same words again.

She stood in front of him with a smile looking at the broken soul being tortured. She got satisfied with her work; she walked back into the darkness in the room.

Spike didn't notice her leaving as he was too caught up on his emotions.

* * *

Buffy was trying to sleep after settling Dawn into her bed. But she was struggling to go back into the dreamland afraid of seeing the same thing she saw before. But this time, it felt different. When she was in the dark room again, she didn't see any demons. All she saw was Spike hanging by the wall in the chains holding him. She moved towards him as much as she can. She tried to call him but she couldn't. She saw him broken and crying which is not a scene that she saw very often. He seemed like he was defeated. She knew whatever demon was torturing him have succeeded in their attempt to break the master vampire. She badly wanted to reach out to help him through it. But she couldn't. All she could do is watch him cry. She got a sudden determination to help him through this. With that, she forced herself out of the dream. She woke up and with the same determination, walked downstairs to the library. She saw Dawn was up before her. Angel was looking better and healed enough to walk by himself. Giles and Willow was sitting in front of the book pile looking tired from all the research. Xander was still missing and Faith wasn't there yet. Illyria was there still looking at everyone with as if she was lost and confused. 

Buffy focused her attention at the researchers.

"Any luck?"

"Not yet Buff. Seems like we are reaching a dead end on all the research we could do. I can't think of anything else at the moment unless someone gives me a clue." Willow said it weakly.

"I had another dream last night." Buffy broke the news getting the attention of everyone in the room.

"I saw Spike broken and crying wherever he was. I doubt it that it was heaven because the demon torturing him for whatever reason has succeeded."

Angel grimaced at the news. He knew his grand childe. Spike is not someone who would give up easily by someone trying forcing him to. He was too stubborn for it. The demons must be pretty strong to break him down like that.

Dawn looked terrified about the news of Spike. She was afraid for her friend. She didn't know what she could do to help him.

Giles seemed to be thinking for a minute and a thought came into his mind. He felt as if he had made a discovery of the lifetime. "I may know what the cause of these dreams is." He exclaimed looking at the anxious faces around him.

He steadied himself and started to explain. "Buffy is the only one feeling it because she is the only one connected with Spike. She has strong feelings for him and he obviously has strong feelings for her. Along with her Slayer senses, his inner mind calling out for her may prove these dreams to be readable in her dreams."

But another thought came into his minds. He paused before he said it out loud. "If my assumption is correct, the reason why all the Slayers didn't feel this Slayer dream is because it must be a mystical place. A place where normal souls cannot reach into. That's why only inner mind's calls to Buffy were reached and not the Slayer calls to the other Slayers. We must know more before we proceed."

Everyone seemed to understand what Giles were saying but they were hesitating to wait and research instead of taking actions. Everyone was lost in their thoughts while Willow came up with an idea.

"I can do something about finding where Spike's soul is. Atleast if he still has the soul that is."

Everyone focused their attention on her.

"If this place is mystical as Giles said, then Black Magic can be useful to finding his soul's location. It is a hard job but with a help of the members of the Coven I met in Brazil who are experts in Black Magic, I may be able to find his soul and the dimension."

"Great Will. Please contact them soon and ask them about it. We need to hurry up before anything bad happens. If the demon's intention was to break down Spike's soul, he would not hesitate to kill him since he has already succeeded in his aim. So we must hurry." Buffy was half demanding and half begging her friend when she finished.

"I'll call them right now." Willow hurried knowing how her best friend felt.

Buffy turned around to the others. "All we can do until then is wait. So everyone else do some information gathering on the demon attacks. We must protect the world while we deal with the other issue." With that, Buffy moved to the Slayers' training room to get ready for the mission to rescue Spike. Whoever held Spike was going to feel her total wraith.

Willow finished her phone call from Angel's office and ran into the Slayers' training room knowing Buffy will be there. As expected, Buffy was beating up the punching bag getting all her anger out. The bag was on the verge of being torn apart. Willow stopped for a moment before calling out for Buffy not wanting to get attacked for surprising her.

"Hey Buffy." Buffy turned to look at her friend. "I've got some good news. The Coven members are still there and they are willing to help us. After I said that it is very urgent, they have offered to teleport me back to Brazil in about ten minutes. I'll get the information and come back within a day." Willow said excitedly.

Buffy smiled at the good news. 'Finally something useful to find Spike' she thought to herself.

* * *

It took a while for Spike to gather himself up from the emotional breakdown he had with his mother. He felt as he felt after killing his mother. Only this time, she killed him instead. He remembered her words ringing in his head like a bee. He tried to ignore it but it kept on taunting him making sure he was not recovering fully from his emotional breakdown. Then he sensed some presence in the room and wondered who it was going to be this time. 

"Hey Spike" An excited voice surprised him. He expected to see her of all the people he knew.

"Lil bit?" He asked clearly confused.

Dawn came out of the darkness looking exactly like how he remembered her. She had an angry look on her face similar to the look she had when she threatened him.

**A/N :** Hey Everyone. I must say that the conversation with Spike and his mother was from the episode 'Lies My Parents Told Me' in Season 7 of Buffy. I got them from Buffyworld and modified them to suit my story. Hope it is worthy. PLEASE REVIEW.

**TBC…**


	14. Conversations

**Chapter 13 :** Conversations

**Disclaimer :** Joss Whedon owns the characters. Atleast most of them. I'm continuing the story which didn't end when he finished. Just want to have an ending.

**A/N :** Thanks for your patience. Hope the story is interesting. More chapters coming up. PLEASE REVIEW

* * *

Spike was surprised to see the little girl in there. He wasn't sure if he was hallucinating or not. Angel and his mother felt real and he wasn't fully confident that they were hallucinations. But Dawn cannot be there without Buffy. He was sure of that. Buffy will never let Dawn be in a place like that all alone.

"What are you doing here Niblet?" Spike questioned weakly. He didn't have much strength left in himself anymore. He needed blood and some rest very soon.

"Don't call me that." Dawn snapped.

"Huh?" Spike was surprised by her reaction and confused.

"Don't call me by your nicknames. You lost the right the moment you tried to rape my sister." She glared at Spike.

Spike hung his head down again in shame. He remembered the conversation he had with Dawn. He knew how much she hated him at that time. The person standing in front of him seemed exactly like that one. His doubts of this being a hallucination is fading away.

"I'm sorry" Spike whispered to Dawn.

"You think Sorry would clear out what you did? You go and get a soul for yourself and all what you did goes away? No. Not by me and definitely not by my sister." Dawn said.

Spike didn't say anything. He kept quiet listening to her.

"You made the right choice of staying away from us. If you have come back, I'm sure we wouldn't have invited you in. You were finally out of our lives and we moved on. So deal with it."

Spike was hurting by Dawn's words. He felt his non-working heart being crushed inside. He felt the pain run through his body. He thought eternal hell would be heaven than to hear her words.

"I wonder if you would do the same to me after I grow up to be a beautiful woman. If you would obsess behind be and when I reject you, you will try to rape me. But since I'm not a Slayer, I guess you will succeed in where you failed." Dawn spitted the words with venom.

Spike's head shot back with Anger. His eyes turned yellow where his demon was taking over him. He felt his face change for a minute. He was allowing his demon to take control to avoid the pain he was facing at the moment.

"There's the demon that tortured all those young girls and drank their blood while they cry." Dawn continued her verbal assault on the vampire.

Hearing her final words, Spike decided not to let the demon out. He got his control back and just listened to the words Dawn was saying to him.

"I hope you are satisfied with whatever you wanted to accomplish. You crushed the little faith that I had in you with your actions. Now you have nobody to care about you. Nobody in this world wants you. I wonder why you are still alive." With that, Dawn went back into the darkness.

The final words were echoing into Spike's head. "Why am I still alive?" Spike questioned himself. He thought all the people who cared about him. Because of him, his mom turned into a vampire. Joyce died and he couldn't do anything to save her. And Dawn who worshipped him sees only a demon in him. And he knows Buffy cannot love a person like him. No wonder he never had any love in his life. He had no purpose in his life. He was trying to achieve something he could never have.

* * *

Far from the room, Maricca was watching Spike's soul break down with all the emotions she was making him feel. She felt the power that she got by his soul's emotional torture. She was smiling and enjoying every moment of it. She felt someone approaching and turned around to see W&H.

"I came to see the progress." he confessed.

"It is going fine. The vampire does have very emotional soul. He has sinned a lot and hurt a lot of people he cared about. I think the soul is on its verge to dying. I don't think it will last very long. And your army is almost ready. You don't have to worry about it." she explained and turned back to watch the vampire suffer.

"Great. This is my final chance and I hope I am satisfied in the end."

"I think you will be more than satisfied." Maricca said with a mischievous smile.

W&H wasn't sure what it exactly means but he knew she was trustworthy and whatever it meant must be a pleasant satisfaction. With that, he left the room.

* * *

After taking a rest and having her lunch with Dawn, Buffy was moving around Hyperion restlessly. Dawn and Xander wanted her to go with them around L.A. to take off their minds from the tension and since it is day outside, demon attacks will be least possible. But Buffy wanted to be there when Willow comes back so she refused. She watched Dawn & Xander go out of the hotel. She went to the library and Giles said he was going to take a long nap before Willow gets back. He was tired of all the research. Angel was back in his room taking a nap as usual. The Slayer training was over and all the Slayers were pre-occupied with other works. Faith went out to make a phone call to Robin Wood. She didn't want it to be public to the Slayers so she went to make it privately. The only person left was Illyria. So Buffy took the chance to have a conversation with the ex-demon god.

"Hey Illyria. I was wondering if I could talk to you for a while."

Illyria looked at the blonde woman next to her and after a moment of consideration nodded her head in acceptance.

"Great. So tell me what you are and what you are doing here." Buffy started trying to make a question.

"I am the god-king of the primordium, shaper of things. I was destined to be raised from the hidden well where all the old demons lay asleep. I came back to raise my army from my dimension. But during my sleep, they seized to exist. What I am doing here still is the question that is hovering on my mind." Illyria spoke without any expressions.

Somehow Buffy understood what she was talking about. "How long have you been working for Angel?" It seemed like an innocent question but it brought the wrong reaction from Illyria.

Illyria turned to Buffy with anger stating "I do not work for the half-breed. I merely assist as it was what Wesley would have wanted." With that thought, she felt the sudden grief rush through her.

Buffy also felt sorry for Illyria. Buffy remembered her ex-Watcher and she couldn't believe him to be some sort of hero. 'But when Spike turned out to be a hero, why can't Wesley?' She questioned herself. And remembering that this is an attempt to forget about Spike for a moment, she turned back to question Illyria.

"So were you and Wesley close?"

"Not intimately as you mortals seem to presume. Wesley had intimate feelings for this shell. After I took over, I felt the grief he had for the shell. She seemed a lot important to everyone in here. Even the pet confessed his love for her." Illyria said.

Buffy got a sudden jealousy feeling towards Fred. 'Did Spike say that he loved Fred?' She wondered. 'What does that mean? He loved her like he loved me? Or did he just care about her? Did he have another life in here? Is that why he didn't come back?' All the questions were running through her mind.

Illyria noticed Buffy's distress by her response. She was confused as to why humans were so emotionally weak.

"I feel you are disturbed by my answer. Did I say anything wrong?" She quizzed the blonde.

"No. No no. I was just thinking for a moment." Buffy snapped back from her thoughts and responded to Illyria.

"I see you have certain feelings for my pet too. You care about him like Wesley cared for this shell." Illyria said it as a statement.

Buffy simply nodded her head in agreement.

"I do not understand human emotions. They are confusing. They say they have feelings for others yet they tend to hide them. I felt the feelings my pet had for someone as well. I don't know who but I believe he never claimed her as well."

"Things are complicated than it seems. Humans act differently due to various reasons. It is not simple enough to confess and get it over with." Buffy tried to explain.

"In my lifetime, humans were weak. Yet they were simple. Now they have grown stronger but more complicated and confused for themselves. I don't understand it but I have to be here to help them succeed from the demon attacks. It is what Wesley and my pet gave their lives for. I wish to honor their deaths." Illyria stated.

"Thank you. But I will do everything I can do bring back Spike. I promise on that." Buffy said it with confidence.

"Then I am willing to assist on that. I believe I can be useful."

"You are always welcome. I believe Spike would need all the help he can get to go through this." Buffy said it and gave Illyria and appreciative look.

Just then Buffy felt a whirlwind coming in the middle of the hall and after a moment, Willow materialized from it.

"Buffy. I found where Spike is." Willow said excited.

* * *

Spike was physically and emotionally hurt more than he could imagine. He didn't know what was left in him. All he wanted is to completely go away. He didn't know if anything could hurt him anymore. But he thought it too soon.

Spike heard footsteps again in the dark.

"Who is it this time? My Grandmother?" He said it with sarcasm.

"No" came in a female voice. Very familiar to him. He looked up and saw the green eyes (I think. Please confirm) he missed for a long time. The blonde hair has grown and she looked ravishing as always. He missed how she looked and how he felt when he saw her. He felt a sudden hope rushing through his body.

"Buff… Buffy? Is that really you?" Spike asked with the voice he has gained by hope.

"Yes its me Silly. Who else did you expect?" She replied giggling.

"I didn't expect to see you. Did you come here to rescue me?" Spike asked remembering the last time she came in for his rescue from the First.

"Why? Do you expect me to?" Buffy asked with sarcasm. "Why would I want to do that? You were finally out of my life. Finally I got rid of you and you expect me to save you? Take you back and feel like shit again? You must be going crazy." Buffy continued.

Spike's face fell upon hearing her. He knew this was not a pleasant surprise. He remembered Dawn's words earlier and it brought back the bad memories. 'How could I expect her to save me after everything I did to her?' Spike questioned himself.

"You said you loved me. Before I died in Hellmouth" Spike said weakly.

"And you believed that? I said that out of courtesy you fool. You were nothing but a dead thing to me. Just because you got a soul doesn't mean I will fall in love with you. I could never love a thing like you. You are nothing but a muscle worker to me." Buffy exclaimed.

Spike felt crushed after that. The final bit of hope he had on her statement ran out after hearing that. He didn't feel anything was left for him.

"I'm finally happy with Immortal and you expect me to ruin my happy life for you? By the way, he is a much better lover than you." She made sure he got every word she spoke to him.

Spike wanted to be dusted more than ever now. But he couldn't do anything but listen to her babbling.

"I heard what happened to Angel and the others in the battle. Thought finally my problems were over. Then I heard you were here. So I just came in to drop in to say hello. No kissing though you know. I can't betray Immortal like that." She stuck more knives in Spike's already wounded heart.

Spike remembered the last time he saw her with Angel. She was kissing him and she told it was just a hello. But she is now saying she would not kiss him because she would betray Immortal. That means Immortal means more to her than him. He was nothing to her.

Buffy let Spike torture himself with thoughts for a moment then decided to continue.

"You know, when you went to get your soul, I thought finally you were out of my life. But you came back with a soul to make me feel guilty over using you. You used my sympathy to settle at my basement. You were trying to get back with me by playing with my emotions." Buffy's tone was rising and it was showing anger in it.

"That was not what I was doing." Spike tried to argue with a weak voice.

"You were a pathetic use for a vampire. Couldn't kill the Slayer. Just followed me everywhere with moon eyes. You claim to love me but you knew nothing about love. You are not even human. You are just a thing. The only reason I let you alive was because you were a strong hand in my fights. And I knew I could use you when the situation comes. And it did. I used you to sacrifice instead of Angel. Because Angel meant more to me than you." Buffy continued with a sadistic voice watching Spike crumple himself with the emotions.

Spike was having his worst nightmare coming true. He didn't know how to stop it or what to do about it. He was helpless and his soul was dying with the pain that he was feeling. His demon was getting hold of him slowly and Spike knew once it got out, there is no turning back. So he fought hard to keep the demon under control. He wasn't going to allow the demon take control because of Buffy.

Buffy gave him a look that said 'You are worthless.' before turning away. "And for old time's sake…" with that, she gave a punch to Spike's nose and walked away into the dark. Spike hanged there helpless and bleeding from his nose hurt than the words than the physical contact.

**A/N :** OK. I know some of you may be pissed by this. I just want to say that I am a SPUFFY fan. So don't take it the wrong way. Most of the dissing Spike was from some of the Bangel fans I had arguments with. I just used it to torture Spike in my story. He was being tortured emotionally so harsh words were in order to break his soul down. The Buffy in Reality doesn't feel that way. So forgive me for the dissing and it is over now. Everything will get better eventually. Still some way to go though. PLEASE REVIEW.

**TBC…**


	15. The Portal

**Chapter 14 :** The Portal

**Disclaimer :** Joss Whedon owns the characters. Atleast most of them. I'm continuing the story which didn't end when he finished. Just want to have an ending.

**A/N :** Thanks for your patience. Hope the story is interesting. More chapters coming up. PLEASE REVIEW

* * *

All the Scooby members were around the table in the library. Angel, Illyria and Faith joined the discussion too. Kennedy was with the Slayers taking care of them. She didn't volunteer into this assignment as she knew that she wouldn't be welcomed.

"I found out where Spike is." Willow started the topic.

"Where?" Giles asked the Witch expecting an explanation.

"You were right Giles. He is in a dimension before Hell. He was caught in there by some demon I'm not familiar with yet. The Witches sensed some powerful demons there but they didn't know the details. All they know is that Spike's soul was trapped in there along with him and it is being tortured. It is fading away and we need to rescue him before it does." Willow saw the panicked look on Dawn and Buffy.

"How can we do that? Do you know how to get there and don't forget how to come back?" Xander spoke after a moment of silence.

"It takes a lot of power to open a portal into that dimension. The power even I don't possess. Not with my white magic for sure. I may be able to if I go into my black magic but I will not be able to come back once I go there. It takes a lot of power for it." Willow said with a sad tone.

"I would have been able to if I had my powers." Illyria said to the others. She was upset that she didn't have the old powers to rescue her pet.

"I can't ask you to do what you shouldn't Will. It's not fair. We must find another alternative solution." Buffy said trying to comfort Willow.

"Please Buffy. Please do something about it? I don't want him to suffer. I want him back" Dawn pleaded fighting back her tears.

"I know honey. I'll do everything I can to bring him back." Buffy tried to comfort her sister fighting back her own tears.

Everyone was taking a moment of silence to think for a solution. Then the solution came from the least expected in the room.

"I'm not sure of this but I think there might be someone I know who could help. If he is alive that is." Angel said breaking the silence.

Everyone turned to him with expectation and hope. He cleared his throat before speaking.

"Remember the spirit I told you about haunting Spike? Spike said he was trying to push his soul into hell. He was a master in Black Magic. He was known well in W&H for his mistreatments. Spike had a chance to become corporeal. But he had to make a choice of saving Fred's life or him becoming corporeal. He chose Fred and pushed the spirit into the circle and in result, the spirit became corporeal. We locked him in the basement forever. When the building of W&H fell down, I think the basement should be there. So I think he can be used to open this portal." Angel explained his thoughts.

Buffy felt pride running through her body on her vampire being the hero and saved someone's life. But she also felt jealousy sticking up for him sacrificing for the girl whom he apparently confessed of loving. But right now, her main thoughts were to rescue him.

"So what are we waiting for? Let's go dig up the basement." With the new found energy, Buffy led them to the door towards where Wolfram and Hart existed once.

In the next hour, they were all ready to dig up the basement to find the person they were looking for. It seemed like the basement didn't get damaged much by the collapse. After another couple of hours of hard work in that night, they got an opening to the stairs that led to the basement. Nobody was willing to give up at that moment and they continued to walk down until they reached the door they were looking for. He's standing in it, strapped in by metal bars, with electrodes attached to his head; just like he was left before. Everyone got a shiver at the look of his face.

"What is his name?" Buffy whispered to Angel.

"His name is Pavayne. But he goes under the name Reaper." Angel said remembering the old times.

"I've heard of that name before. He was a mass murderer back in the old days. He killed many people very violently as I recall." Giles said wiping his glasses. "Are we sure we should do this?" He questioned everyone knowing the answer.

Everyone except him said in unison "Yes." Giles just nodded and kept himself silent.

Angel opened the door and took the wires out of his head. He saw Reaper waking up and glaring at Angel. "I will rip your throat and feed it to the fishes. I'll suck your soul while you are alive." He was hissing at Angel, he forgot to notice the company.

A punch on his face made him come back to reality. He felt the blood oozing out of his nose. He turned around to see a pissed off woman standing in front of him.

"That is for trying to throw Spike into hell." Buffy glared.

Angel was amused by the situation. He turned around to Reaper and said with a harsh tone. "We need you to open a portal for us. We know you can. You have been involved in Black Magic for a long time. It would be easy for you. If you do that, we will release you from this cell. Or else, you will be stuck here for eternity and nobody will even know you are here."

The Reaper turned his head into a cocky position. He was dreaming for a minute before snapping back into reality. "You want me to open a portal for you using my talents. Now why would I ever want to do that?" He mocked Angel.

"Because if you don't, you will be feeling eternal pain stuck in that cell." Willow stepped forward threatening the Reaper.

Reaper turned his focus to the Witch standing in front of him. "Interesting. A Witch. A very powerful one. But still she is not trying to open the portal herself. Too scared to do black magic?" Now it was Willow's turn to be mocked.

His comment earned him another punch in his face from Buffy. He turned around and glared at her. "I see you have more than human strength in you. I am assuming you as the Slayer. And I don't doubt for a minute you and the Witch will do as you promised. But what I am not sure of is my freedom from this cell once I opened the portal."

"You have my word that you will be freed from this cell." Angel promised him. Giles was uncomfortable by this situation; he was coughing out loud to show his disagreement. Everyone just ignored him.

"Free me from this cell and I'll help you open the portal." Reaper finally agreed.

With that, Angel removed the metal bars holding him. He took hold of Reaper from one side while Buffy took hold from the other. They dragged him back to Hyperion.

"Now where would you like me to take you to?" Reaper questioned them.

Willow gave him a note. He saw what was written and he got a slight fear in his expression. "Limba? You want me to open the portal to Limba? You must be out of your minds. Do you know what kind of evil is there? You will be instantly killed down there." Reaper was agitating now.

"We'll take our chances. Besides, why do you care?" Buffy asked the question she had in her mind.

"Because if you don't make it, I may be stuck back into the cell again" Reaper announced his fear.

"Don't worry. We'll come back and we will finish our goal. You just concentrate on opening the portal for us."

With that, Reaper told Willow some magical items he would require to open the portal. Willow rushed to the phone and after half hour, the items were teleported into the room thanks to Coven.

"I need a massive surge of dark energy to open the portal. I am not sure you could get that in this world anymore."

"What energy? What are you talking about?" Buffy questioned trying to hide her panic.

"Opening the portal requires a massive surge of dark energy to catalyze the process. I cannot open the portal and pass through the fortress of magic force field without it."

"The cat is gone. No more energy to get from." Angel murmured.

"What?" Buffy turned her head to question Angel. She heard him mumbling something to himself.

"Nothing. What are we going to do now?" Angel brushed off his thoughts of guilt and tried to focus on the current situation.

"You can use my blood." A voice came out of nowhere. Everyone turned around to look at Dawn.

"I am the key. Or atleast I was. My blood must be useful to open up portals still. Use mine." Dawn said it again with more confidence.

"No Dawn. You are made from me. They can use my blood." Buffy protested.

"No Buffy. You need to be strong to go through this. I don't know what is there on the other side. You cannot be weak to defend yourself. I will be here and my blood will be useful. I owe him that." Dawn replied back without reconsidering the offer.

"She's right Buffy." Willow agreed.

Buffy slumped back agreeing half heartedly. She didn't want anyone to hurt Dawn and use her blood again. It was bringing back memories of Glory. The last time it happened, she died. This time she was more worried about the vampire with a soul than herself. She didn't want him to die and she has to be strong to save him from all evil.

"Go ahead." Buffy nodded to Reaper.

He took a knife and cut Dawn's wrist. She flinched and when she saw Buffy's face, she gave a smile to confirm that she was ok. Buffy relaxed after looking at her sister's face. She was amazed on how much Dawn has grown up now.

Reaper started the spell and held his hands open covered with Dawn's blood. A swirl came in out of nowhere and it was creating destruction in the room. Nobody cared about the items as they were focused on more important issues at the moment. The portal opened finally and steadied. Buffy looked back at the others. They have decided that Buffy, Angel, Illyria and Faith are going to the rescue. Buffy had her scythe and Angel had a sword in his hand. Faith was armed as well and Illyria was going bare handed as usual.

"Use this vile to open the portal from the other side." Reaper handed them a vile filled with Dawn's blood and some potion. Buffy took it and kept it safe with her. They all moved into the portal together.

**A/N :** Finally they found a way to rescue Spike. PLEASE REVIEW.

**TBC…**


	16. Rescue Mission

**Chapter 15 :** Rescue Mission

**Disclaimer :** Joss Whedon owns the characters. Atleast most of them. I'm continuing the story which didn't end when he finished. Just want to have an ending.

**A/N :** Thanks for your patience. Hope the story is interesting. More chapters coming up. PLEASE REVIEW

* * *

On the other side of the portal, Buffy and Angel took the first steps and Illyria along with Faith followed them. All of them were transported into a dark hallway. Nobody was around and everyone was relieved for that. Buffy could sense Spike and so does Angel. Both of them led the way while the other two followed. Faith is still not very familiar with Spike but she could feel the evil in the place around them.

Buffy and Angel walked down the hallway until they saw a dim light coming through a room. Both of them were careful to not make any sound. Angel signed Faith and Illyria to wait while Buffy and Angel sneaked into the room. They saw a woman close to the door with her eyes closed. She was showing signs of feeling pleasure. Buffy tried to figure out what was happening when she got a glance at Spike. Even though she has seen him before in her dreams, it still shook her. The mere sight of him hanging down all bruised and hurt was not a pleasurable moment for her. Angel seemed to have noticed it too. He advanced forward towards the woman and stood close to her. She didn't notice him while she felt the pleasure. Angel gave a hard punch to her face that made her snap out of her feeding. She glared at him angrily.

"Who are you? How did you get in here?" She demanded.

"I'm Angel and I came here to kick your ass." With that, he lunges forward and hits the woman right on her waist. She fell backwards along with Angel. Angel started to smash her with both of his fists. Suddenly he got thrown away from her.

"How dare you attack me vampire?" She hissed. It was as if she didn't feel anything at all.

Buffy decided to join the action and she attacked the woman from behind. Maricca turned around and gave a swing at Buffy. Even with her blocking, Buffy stumbled away and fell to the ground. That woman was stronger than Buffy expected. She turned around to face Angel who got up with his game face on. He growled at her and jumped to pounce on her. But she just caught him swiftly in the air throwing him to the other side of the wall. Buffy saw this and tried to get her advantage while she was distracted. Buffy attacked her from behind and threw punches at her body. But it seemed ineffective towards her. Maricca turned around to face the Slayer. She took hold of Buffy's hand and pulled it hard and Buffy flew across the room to be smashed to the wall. Angel and Buffy were injured but they didn't give up. They tried to attack at the same time but Maricca was strong enough to handle them both. She seemed faster and more powerful than they anticipated. She turned around and gave a roundhouse kick to both of them sending them flying away again.

"You are nothing to the power of Maricca. I am the God of Soul Slavery. I enjoy feeding on souls. And I have two more to add to my collection." She said clearly interested in taking both prisoners alive.

"I am not sure about that idea." Faith moved in now with her swords and scythe into the room. She carried the weapons since Buffy and Angel were trying to sneak in silently. She tossed the sword to Angel and scythe to Buffy while she got ready for the attack.

Maricca seemed surprised to see two humans and a vampire trying to attack her. It was a humorous situation in her point of view. Never before have had she faced a situation like this before.

All of them tried to attack at once but they failed to notice her fingernails that grew longer than normal. She held both of her hands and the swords and scythe hit the fingernails like hitting a metallic object. She took a swung at Faith and she scratched her right shoulder with her nails. It was like claws with sharp pointed blades. She attacked all three of them at the same time but careful enough to only injure them. She could feel the potential in their souls and they seemed to be worthy to her.

Finally Maricca got tired of the battle as she swung her nails towards Buffy and Angel and while they tried to defend it with their weapons, she did a sweep kick that brought down Buffy and Angel and knocking their weapons far away from them. Faith who was already knocked to the corner of the wall tried to get up but couldn't. All of them were injured by Maricca who stood there with an amused face.

"Now what are you going to do now? I don't think you have the strength to fight me again. Just give up and I'll be easy with your souls." She mocked them.

"I wish to do some violence too." The sound by the doorway was heard. Maricca turned around to face Illyria. Maricca didn't realize who she was initially. She tried to figure out who the blue demon was.

"Who are you?"

"I am Illyria, god-king of the primordium." She announced herself.

Maricca's eyes widened with surprise. She didn't expect to see her.

"Illyria? I thought you were dead."

"I was imprisoned for centuries. And I was released into this shell to relive again. You have my pet and these people came in to save him. I wish to take my pet and them with me."

Maricca's eyes narrowed. "Are you working along with humans and vampires? Are you that weak now?"

"I do not wish to discuss about myself. I want them to come with me right now."

"It is not possible."

"Then we should do battle." With that, Illyria took her stance.

Maricca got prepared. She knows about Illyria. She was a weak demon when Illyria was a powerful one. But she assumed after all this time, Illyria would be weak. But her assumption was proven wrong when Illyria gave her a hard punch right in the chest throwing her to the wall in the room. Maricca got up and charged at Illyria. Illyria side-stepped and kicked her in the gut and gave an elbow to her back sending Maricca to her knees. Illyria took hold of Maricca's head and brought her knee right to her face. Maricca fell to the ground grimaced in pain. Illyria reached to get hold of her when Maricca tried to attack with her nails. Illyria stepped back and alerted herself to the nails.

Maricca once again charged with her fingers pointed towards Illyria this time. Illyria jumped in the air and somersaulted and landed behind Maricca. When she tried to turn around, Illyria swiftly took hold of both the hands and slammed them together puncturing both hands with her nails. Maricca cried out in pain. Illyria took hold of the nails and she pulled it hard enough to tear it from the fingers. Maricca was hurt so badly she fell to the ground crying out in pain. Illyria stepped her foot on Maricca's throat. Illyria saw fear of death on the other demon's face. With a glance at Spike, she knew what happened to him. She was familiar with the soul torture at her time. She didn't like the sight in front of her especially to her pet. She turned back with her eyes cold and clearly looking at Maricca's face, she put more force crushing the demon's throat which resulted in sudden painful death.

During the battle between Illyria and Maricca, Angel, Buffy and Faith have regained their strengths. They were on their foot and watched the battle without interfering. Angel already knew Illyria's strength but Buffy and Faith saw it for the first time without any interruptions. They were surprised and scared a bit about the demon. Illyria just turned to look at them and nodded her head towards Spike. All of them broke out from their stare at the demon and moved towards Spike. He was barely conscious when he felt hands over his body. His mind was begging 'No More' but he couldn't utter any words. He smelled a familiar vanilla smell and immediately knew who it was. He tried to struggle out of the hold but he was too weak to fight against. Their holds on him were iron grip and he couldn't do anything else but to allow to be dragged. Angel was on one side while Buffy was on the other holding him tightly. He continued to struggle as much as he can but hearing Buffy's voice mutters to him "It's ok. You're safe" made him feel something. It was not the words but her tone that soothed him down. He gave in and fell back into unconscious.

A bunch of demons have found their way into the hallway and they were ready to attack the intruders. Faith who was handling the scythe now and Illyria was leading the way to the place where they can open the portal and killing the demons that got in their way. Buffy and Angel were busy carrying Spike; they didn't interfere in the battle in front of them. Finally they all made it to the location. Buffy threw the vile and it started to shimmer in the air showing signs of creating the portal. They knew they had support from the other side if any demons go through with them. After the portal got steadied, Angel and Buffy walked with Spike into the portal while Illyria and Faith covered them. Then they themselves went into the portal.

W&H was watching everything that happened since their arrival. He went to get the demons to attack the intruders when he was suddenly stopped by the fourth person he saw with the intruders. He was familiar with Illyria although she didn't know about him. He followed them and saw the battle with Maricca. He saw Illyria kill her and fear captured his mind. He went back to bring more demons for an attack to stop them. But after they passed through, he got a smile in his face.

"Don't worry. I'm still here. I have my requirement. My army is ready. I will rule all the dimensions once I capture theirs. The vampire will distract their attention while I execute my plan." Speaking out loud to himself, W&H was proud of his own accomplishment in the past few days. He felt good about what he was going to do; he got a smile in his face that turned into a loud laughter echoing through the hallway.

**A/N :** Sorry if this chapter is short. It was supposed to be only a rescue mission episode. Spike is back with the gang now. But is it all? What will happen to him and the others? Continue reading the story. And don't forget to REVIEW.

**TBC…**


	17. Return Of Spike

**Chapter 16 :** Return of Spike

**Disclaimer :** Joss Whedon owns the characters. Atleast most of them. I'm continuing the story which didn't end when he finished. Just want to have an ending.

**A/N :** Thanks for your patience. Hope the story is interesting. More chapters coming up. PLEASE REVIEW.

**ness345 :** This chapter is for you. Hope it's worthy. Review more and get more chapters quicker.

* * *

When a portal started to open up in Hyperion, everyone waiting anxiously stood straight. They were in their fighting stance ready to defend whatever comes through. After waiting for a moment, Buffy and Angel came through carrying a bruised and beaten body of Spike from either side. Everyone was shocked at his condition, no one thought of helping them. The first person to react was Dawn.

"Spike" With a scream, she ran to him trying to embrace him with her wide-spread hands.

"Dawn" Her sister's voice made her stop before him. "He's in a really bad shape. Wait for him to heal before doing anything." Her sister's unshaken strong voice made Dawn realize that she was in a serious mood. Dawn stepped back allowing Buffy and Angel to move to the stairs carrying Spike's unconscious body.

Everyone was focusing on Buffy and Angel, they forgot about Faith and Illyria. When they heard a scream of a demon, they turned back to look at the portal disappearing and a demon's dead body hanging from the grip of Illyria by its throat. Faith looked tired and bruised from the battle as well.

"Wow… that was a rush. It's been some time since I've dealt with stuff like that before." Faith said exhaustedly. Then remembering the fight in the alley, she chuckled. "Not really."

Everyone calmed down now after the success of the rescue mission. They were satisfied with the outcome. Even Xander and Giles were glad to have Spike back again with them.

"I guess I'll be leaving now." Reaper's voice broke the peaceful silence in the hall.

"Where do you think you are going?" Angel's voice came from the stairs.

Reaper turned back to look at Angel. "I believe I satisfied the deal. I am allowed to be free now."

"I said you will be freed from the cell. I didn't say anything about your freedom." Angel nodded towards Willow who was chanting something in Latin.

"EGO vomica vestri animus futurus sent in abyssus" ('I curse your soul to be sent into hell')

A mist of wind came through trapping Reaper before he could react. The witch's power was strong for him to break through. Another portal opened up above him and he got sucked into it. The portal closed and the wind settled down leaving no traces of any after effects of the use of magic.

"I believe that went fairly well." Giles spoke after all the action in the hall.

* * *

When Angel and Buffy moved Spike up the stairs, they took him to a room that looked quite furnished. It was really posh and it seemed like important VIPs used to stay in that room. In any other occasions, Buffy would have been impressed by the decorations in the room. But her focus now was fully on the vampire on her hold. Both of them moved his body to the bed and laid him down. Buffy got on the bed beside Spike and took a good look at his status.

"Can you bring him some blood? It might help him heal quickly." Buffy raised her eyes from Spike to Angel. He nodded silently and moved out of the room closing the door behind him. Buffy looked at Spike again. She couldn't be the strong slayer she was pretending to be anymore. She broke down and started to cry. Tears seemed to flow freely from her eyes. She gently touched the wounds in Spike's body created by the hot pokers. She could feel how much pain it must have been for him. She scooped herself close to his body as much as she can. She slipped next to him and embraced herself around his body never to leave him again. She felt sorrow but at the same time, she felt peace. She felt herself back again alive next to his body. The feeling she has been missing ever since Sunnydale went down.

Angel returned back with a bag of blood. The scene in front of him brought the jealousy back again in him. He couldn't accept the fact of Spike being part of her life. Even though Spike have become closer to him in the last year, Spike being with Buffy was always not acceptable by him. He cleared his throat to announce his arrival and Buffy looked up at him. He showed her the bag and she got up from where she was sleeping to get hold of the bag. Angel gave it to her and saw her trying to feed it to the unconscious body of Spike.

Spike was still unconscious but his body was reacting to the smell of blood. After Buffy spilling drops of blood over his lips, his mouth opened and she started to slowly pour the blood into his mouth. His body was reacting on its own and started to drink the blood. His body twitched when it flowed through his body after so long. Buffy looked panicked and looked for any signs of pain in his face or body. When she saw him relax, she continued to feed him.

After feeding, she threw the empty bag into the garbage can and went back to her position next to Spike. Angel saw the look in her face and decided to leave them alone for the moment. He closed the door and moved away from the room. He saw Dawn with worried eyes standing outside the door. He gave her a reassuring smile.

"Dawn… what are you doing here?" He questioned knowing the answer.

"I want to see Spike."

"Spike is resting and so is Buffy. We better wait for a while." Dawn nodded half-heartedly. She knew how much she wanted to see him but she couldn't disturb him from taking the rest.

Angel wondered how Spike was able to manipulate all the Summers women. It was something he couldn't figure out in his life or unlife.

* * *

After a few hours, Spike came back to conscious. He felt someone next to him and his instinct reacted by holding her close. He smelled the body next to him while realizing he wasn't in the chains as he was last time. He wondered what was happening this time. Slowly his senses came back to him. He could feel that this was a different place. He tried to open his eyes but the brightness in the room hurt his eyes. He closed them again and let his other senses focus more. After taking a moment to get back his thoughts, he remembered seeing Buffy trying to hold him. He then knew who was next to him. Instantly he pushed her away from his body as far as he could and fell off the bed to the floor and crawled himself to the corner of the room hiding his face in his hands and knees.

Buffy was suddenly woken up by a sudden push in her body. She lost her focus for a minute and then she noticed where she was. When she saw the empty bed, she panicked thinking it was all a dream. Then she saw the figure in the corner of the room trying to hide himself. She got off the bed and tried to touch him. He flinched and murmured something that she couldn't hear.

"It's ok Spike. You are safe now. No one is going to hurt you." Buffy said with a soothing voice trying to calm him down.

"Get Out" Spike murmured to himself so low Buffy couldn't hear him.

"What is it Spike?" Buffy questioned him trying to figure out what was wrong.

"**_Get Out_**" Spike screamed this time finding the strength to speak.

Buffy was shocked by the sudden outburst from Spike. His response brought a sting of pain in her heart and she tried to compose herself. She tried to be calm and supportive to him.

"It's ok Spike. Everything is over. Nothing to worry anymore." She tried to calm him down again.

"Get Out from Here. Get Away from Me" Spike spoke loud and clear for Buffy to realize he was serious on what he was saying.

She couldn't control her emotions anymore. She didn't expect this reaction from Spike of all people. She was hurt and she couldn't be there anymore. She ran out of the room and into her own room crying.

All the scream and loud voice brought everyone to attention. Dawn and Angel looked at each other knowing the voice of the owner. Dawn rushed upstairs to see her sister running away from the room into her own. She decided to go and see her sister before talking to Spike.

She opened the door and walked in to see her sister crying in the bed. She sat on the bed and held her sister closely trying to comfort her. Buffy gripped her sister with all her strength, Dawn flinched. Buffy relaxed and looked at her sister's patient face giving her a questioning look. Buffy broke down again.

"He doesn't want me. He doesn't want to be near me." Buffy whispered between her crying.

Dawn's eyes were calm and supportive. "Buffy… you need to understand him. He has been through a lot. He cannot be the way he was before. Give him time. He will come back to himself."

Buffy looked at her sister with hopeful eyes. It gave her more strength to be herself. She nodded and calmed herself down a bit.

"Now you take some rest and I'll go and speak with him." Dawn assured her and moved to the door.

Buffy crawled herself back into her bed trying to be patient. She knew she must be more patient and supportive to help Spike through this. She was ashamed of herself to be so weak and vulnerable.

Dawn walked back and went inside Spike's room. She saw him curled up in a corner of the room hiding his face inside his arms and knees. She couldn't control anymore, she ran to him and embraced him with all her might.

Spike didn't react to the girl who was his once loved friend. He sensed her the moment she came in through the door. He still remembers her smell after so long. But his last memories and words spoken to her was still ringing in his head.

Dawn felt him stiffen under her embrace so she pulled back to see if she caused any pain to him. When she saw the blank look on his face, she was troubled.

"What do you want Dawn?" Spike asked in his calm unemotional tone.

Dawn flinched at him calling her 'Dawn'. As far as she remembers, he always called her by her nicknames he gave her. It was strange to hear her name from his mouth after all this time. But his question angered her.

"What do I want? I thought you were dead. I thought you left me forever. And you ask me what I want? What do you think I want Spike?" She was shouting at him forgetting what she said to her sister earlier.

Spike's expression changed from blank to a sad smile. He looked at her face with a pained expression.

"I'll be gone the minute I can move. Don't worry Dawn. You will not see me ever again." Spike replied answering her question.

Dawn was confused. 'What is he talking about?' Her mind was trying to figure out what he was saying. She realized what he was saying to her.

"I don't want you gone anywhere Spike. Don't you realize that?" She asked with a pained expression of his thoughts.

Spike chuckled at her response. But only blood came out of his mouth. Dawn tried to rush in to help him. He held his hand up to stop her from approaching.

"I know what you mean. And you will get what you wanted." Spike said it loud and clear through his mouth filled with blood. He licked his lips with his tongue to take the blood back into his mouth.

Dawn was lost at his response. 'What is he talking about? What do I want?' Then her thoughts of her last conversation with him came into her mind. She remembered threatening him on hurting Buffy. She thought she knew what he was talking about.

She tried to argue with him but he said it with a stone cold voice "Please leave me alone. I don't want to talk anymore." With that, he buried his head back in his arms and knees.

Dawn looked at him for a moment with tears threatening to come out. She walked back and went into her sister's room.

She found Buffy sitting in the bed now and not crying anymore. Tears started to come out of Dawn's eyes. Buffy was instantly by her sister's side holding her close.

"I don't know what to do Buffy. He thinks I hate him still. I don't know what to do to explain him how I feel." She murmured.

"It's ok honey. Like you said, he needs some time. Let's hope it will be sooner than later."

Both sisters held each other close and calmed themselves together and tried to take their minds off the vampire they loved so much.

**A/N :** Spike is back now. But his memories are still on his torture. He thinks they are real. And his responses to people are from that. Just needed to clarify that. And don't forget to REVIEW.

**TBC…**


	18. Spike’s Reaction

**Chapter 17 :** Spike's Reaction

**Disclaimer :** Joss Whedon owns the characters. Atleast most of them. I'm continuing the story which didn't end when he finished. Just want to have an ending.

**A/N :** Thanks for your patience. Hope the story is interesting. More chapters coming up. PLEASE REVIEW

* * *

After a little while, both sisters went downstairs to talk with the others about Spike's condition. They found everyone in the library with worried faces. Apparently they have heard Spike's scream and loud voice very clearly. They had a worried expression in their faces too.

"I'm assuming you guys know what we came here to talk about." Buffy stated. Everyone just nodded their head in agreement.

"We need to find out what happened to him and fast. He seems to avoid both of us. He wants to be left alone and I don't know if it is a good idea or not."

"Maybe it would be better if someone who is not close to him speak with him" Angel suggested.

"I guess that should put me in charge" Xander grimaced at the thought.

"Why don't you go and try while we discuss on what we could do?" Buffy requested him with her slayer attitude but pleading in that request didn't go unnoticed.

"I'll try my best" Xander assured her and left towards Spike's room.

"I hope something will help him soon." Buffy said it to herself and looked back at the others to discuss the situation.

"Do you think it was a plan to have Spike in there?"

"I don't know. It may seem to be a plan. It is unnatural for someone to go into that realm with natural deaths. Even for a vampire." Giles stated.

"So there must be someone who wanted him there." Buffy finished. "Who can that be?"

"Who won't it be? Spike has the tendency to piss everyone off remember?" Angel smirked. Buffy grinned for moment thinking about Spike's attitude.

"He has been working with you for the last year. It must be someone involved with your line of work who would be trying to do such a thing."

"I don't know. It may have been Lindsey. I mean he was the one who brought Spike back alive in the amulet in an attempt to kill me. He used Spike to try and get my attention away from helping the innocents. But I'm assuming he is dead along with the Black Thorn" Angel said it while wondering if it was true or not. He didn't know about Lorne or what happened with them.

"What do you mean you assume?" Buffy narrowed her eyebrows on Angel's last sentence.

"Well, I don't know if he is or not. I asked Lorne to kill him after getting rid of the Black Thorne. I think he would have done that."

"But you are not sure?" Buffy kept asking the question.

"No. The apocalypse came in and I didn't get the chance to confirm it."

"So can you do that now? We need to know if anyone is there against Spike still alive." With that, Buffy went back towards Spike's room to see what was going on.

* * *

Meanwhile, in Spike's room…

"Can I come in?" Xander asked Spike from the doorstep. When he didn't get any reply, he entered the room.

"What do you want Whelp?" Spike asked without raising his head up from his knees.

"I don't know. Just wanted to see whether the evil undead or maybe just undead is still the same." Xander said it with a smirk.

"Still here unfortunately. Not for long though." answered Spike.

"What's wrong Spike? Do you want to talk?"

"Since when did you care about me?" Spike has raised his head up and looking at Xander now.

"I think ever since you saved the world and us. Also got a new shed of light on your view after Anya's death" Xander said while trying to hide his sadness.

Spike gave a sorrowful look and said "I'm sorry."

Xander cleared his emotions and sat by the floor next to Spike.

"So that's the reason. If you need to talk, I'm here for you."

"Thanks Whelp. But I don't think I need to talk. I know what I should do and you don't have to worry about me interfering again."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" A voice from the doorstep distracted them.

Spike looked up to see Buffy with red eyes clear from the crying and looking at him with anger and frustration.

"I think I'll leave you two alone." Xander said and left the room for them to talk.

"What did you mean by that Spike?" Buffy questioned again.

"You know bloody well what I meant." Spike spat back at Buffy. But this time, she was ready for it.

"No I don't. Tell me. Explain it to me. What did you mean?"

"I'll be out of all of your lives. You go live your happy life with the poncy Immortal." Spike said it with the venom he felt when she spoke to him before.

Buffy was gobsmacked by his tone of voice. His words registered into her mind slowly and when it did, she realized why he was angry with her. Her eyes went wide at his thoughts of her.

"You… you think I'm happy with Immortal?" She was struggling for words now. The confidence she had when she came in went flying off the roof by his statement. Tears started to come back in her eyes.

Spike sensed her emotionally troubled. He was confused. He didn't know if she was sad about his statement or angry about it. He looked at her face and saw tears coming from her eyes.

"Don't" Spike said softly.

"What?" Buffy whispered trying to control her tears.

"Don't cy. Please… I can't stand it." Spike spoke with his comforting tone.

Buffy controlled her emotions and tried to move on towards him. She saw him move back and stopped moving forward.

"I'm not with Immortal. It was not a relationship." Buffy said to him trying to convince him.

"It's not what you said. You have moved on with your life. You are having your happy life. I won't ruin it for you. You don't have to worry about me. I will not bother you again." After a moment, he continued " i EVER /i ".

She was shocked. She couldn't say anything. She wondered if he still felt any feelings for her anymore. "Do you think you bother me by being alive?" She asked with a low voice filled with emotions.

Spike laughed at her question. It was his first laugh since being back and it felt strange to him. "I forgot. I'm nothing to you. Just a muscle worker who can be wasted right? I'm nothing but a thing to you. An evil soulless or now soulful thing" Spike said it controlling his pain and anger from the memories of their conversation.

Buffy was emotionally pained by his words. She recognized some of her words she spoke to him when he didn't have a soul. She was hiding from her emotions at that time by saying cruel words to him. And now they are showing up hurting her just like it hurt him back then.

"Why are you saying all this?" She whispered while tears forming in her eyes again.

"I told you to stop crying. I can't stand you crying." Spike said it again.

Buffy looked at him with her hopeful eyes. She thought he might still have feelings for her. But when she saw the plain look in his face, her face fell down again.

"I didn't mean them back then. I was trying to deny my feelings for you. I didn't want to be in a relationship with you. It would be same as my relationship before." She spoke too soon before she knew what she was saying.

Unfortunately Spike didn't miss it. "Ha. The Great Poof. The love of your life. Who am I compared to him right? That's what you said? I'm nothing but worthless expendable vampire who can be used whenever you want. So what do you want from me now? Need me to die again for you? No thanks. I'll do that myself. You don't have to worry about me showing up and ruin your life with Immortal." he spat all his venom on her. He was too weak to get up and fight with her, not that he would.

It was too much of emotion for Buffy to handle. Tears were running from her eyes and she couldn't control it anymore. She turned back and ran to her room to hide herself from him. Spike saw her leave and his head fell back in his arms. 'Great. I made her cry again' he thought for himself.

* * *

It took a while to control her emotions in her room. Buffy walked back to her friends and saw their comforting faces towards her. She gave them a small smile and sat down by the table.

"So how is he doing?" Willow questioned her friend.

"I think he is mentally hurt more than physically. His physical wounds have healed a little but he is talking about stuff I can't understand." Buffy spoke with a weak voice.

"Maybe he is becoming like Drusilla now." Xander commented. When he saw the glares he got, he raised his hands in surrender. "Sorry. No more jokes about deadboy up there."

"He was talking about me saying things to him that I never said to him before. He is really hurt by those words and if I'm right, he might try to kill himself. He reacted similarly towards Dawn too." Buffy looked at Dawn and she nodded her head in agreement.

"Maybe he was hallucinating when he was there. We must remember he was starved without blood for some time now. He might have side effects because of that." Giles said his thoughts out loud.

"Maybe if you tell us what he said, it might be useful to figure out what is happening to him." Xander questioned Buffy.

Buffy hesitated for a moment. She didn't want to say his feelings and words out loud to everyone. It might make the situation more uncomfortable. But then she remembered the look he had in his face. She decided to tell them to see if there is any chance of helping him.

"He spoke about me having a happy life with Immortal. He said I didn't want him in my life. He said I told him he was and evil soulless thing and used him as a muscle worker. He told that I thought of him as expendable. He thought he would ruin my life by showing up alive and he said I didn't have to worry about him disturbing anymore." Buffy said controlling the pain she felt from those words.

"Don't get me wrong but isn't that partially true?" Xander spoke too quickly and when he saw the painful glare from her, he quickly continued. "What I'm saying is that some of the things he said are your words. You have said them to him before. Like him being an evil soulless thing? I used to tell him that many times. And you are happy with Immortal. He saw that himself didn't he?" Xander explained.

"I'm i Not /i happy with Immortal. I pretended to be so that all of you can stop worrying about me." Buffy blurted out. All the members of the Scooby gang were shocked by her statement.

"Why Buffy? We just cared about you. You didn't have to pretend to keep us satisfied. You could have just been yourself and that would have been enough for us." Willow spoke with soft voice.

Buffy melted down from her anger. "I know Will. It's just that all of you guys were worried about me mourning for Spike, I just wanted to pretend I was happy so that you can move on with your lives and stop worrying about me." Buffy explained.

"Oh Boy… I wonder what we are going to do now." Xander wondered.

Just then, the front door of Hyperion opened up with full force. A figure ran in through and came straight into the library noticing them there. Everyone was shocked at the sudden outburst. They looked at the figure speechless.

"Andrew?" Xander called out loud.

"We have a problem." Andrew said it while taking big breaths.

**A/N :** Spike is having problems and what is the big trouble that is coming now? Wait and see. PLEASE REVIEW.

**TBC…**


	19. What Really Happened?

**Chapter 18 :** What Really Happened?

Disclaimer : Joss Whedon owns the characters. Atleast most of them. I'm continuing the story which didn't end when he finished. Just want to have an ending.

**A/N :** Thanks for your patience. Hope the story is interesting. More chapters coming up. PLEASE REVIEW

* * *

"Andrew? What are you doing here?" Giles questioned the figure who has fallen to the floor exhausted.

"I'm sorry Giles. You told me to take care of the council. But there is an emergency. Slayers have started to die all over the world." Everyone started to panic by Andrew's message.

"Alright. I'll go and see what is happening. Meanwhile, you guys figure out what is going on with Spike in here." Giles said to the group and hurried to the office to make a call.

"Spike? He's alive?" Andrew was shocked now by the news. He was told that Spike didn't survive the battle back at the council.

When nobody replied, Andrew shouted loud "Hello. Is there anyone here?" When everyone looked at him weirdly, he shrugged off and asked again. "Spike is alive?"

"Yes Andrew. He's alive upstairs." Dawn replied him. Before she could continue, Andrew dashed out of the room up the stairs. "He's not like normal so he might kill you if you try anything." She shouted back at him but Andrew kept moving until he was at Spike's door. He had to search through but he didn't give up until he found the room. He dashed in through and hugged Spike with all the strength he had.

Spike was shocked at the sudden burst through the door in his room. Before he realized, someone was hugging him. He tried to shrug the figure off him but when he realized it was Andrew, he eased up.

"What are you doing here Andrew?" He asked quietly.

"Thank the heavenly gods for keeping you alive. You are back. Back from the dead again. You are an Immortal." Andrew was blabbering.

Spike laughed softly. He always found Andrew annoying but funny to be around with. "Atleast someone is happy to see me back. Although it may not be for long." Spike said it with a low voice.

"What do you mean? I thought everyone will be excited to see you alive." Andrew was confused.

Spike smirked. "I think you got it wrong mate. I know you got it wrong. I'd rather be dead than be here like this."

Andrew was lost in Spike's remarks. "What are you talking about Spike? Everyone here loves you. Dawn missed you and so did Buffy."

"Buffy…" Spike smirked again. "Loves me? You are the one who said Buffy have moved on. She has forgotten about everything and living a peaceful life."

Andrew was out of words. "I… I…" he didn't know what to say. "I think I might have been wrong Spike. I thought she was but after you guys left, I saw something change in her. She was still in love with you. She was pretending to be happy for Dawn."

"You're wrong mate. She was never in love with me. She is happily in love with Immortal. She said it herself. So did nibblet. Oh sorry. Dawn. She didn't even want me to call her by her names anymore." At Andrew's confused look, Spike continued, "Don't believe everything you see boy. Take this advice from a vampire who has lived for sodding forever." Spike gave a sad look to Andrew.

"I don't know about the others but I surely missed you. If you are going somewhere, I'm coming with you." Andrew said it with determination.

"Don't take this the wrong way mate but I think I'm better off alone. But I really appreciate you caring for me." Spike gave him a sad but appreciative look.

Andrew was confused. 'Everyone here has hurt my Idol.' he thought. 'I must know what is going on in here.'

"I'll be right back Spike. Don't worry. And you are not alone. Whether you like it or not, I'm here with you." With that, he moved back downstairs to the library to meet the others.

"What the hell did you do to him?" Andrew barked at everyone in anger. Everyone was shocked at his reaction. Nobody has ever seen him with so much anger.

"What did you guys do to Spike?" he questioned again.

"Nothing Andrew. He died in the battle and some demon was torturing him. We rescued him. No one here is responsible for his wounds." Xander tried to assure Andrew. But it calmed him only a bit.

"He is emotionally hurt." When he saw the look of 'told you' from Dawn, he turned his anger towards her. "What did you say to him? He was your protector. He cared about you so much and you hurt him like that?"

Dawn's expression was priceless. She was lost at what Andrew was talking about. "What are you talking about Andrew?" she questioned him.

"You…" pointing her "hurting him. He said you didn't care about him. You didn't love him anymore. I thought you did since you were mourning for him all this time. Is that an act? Are you still mad at him?"

Dawn had a flash of anger upon his words. "No." she yelled at Andrew. "I'm not mad at him and I damn well care about him. Why did he say that? About me?" she questioned him.

"I don't know. He said you didn't love him anymore. You didn't even want to be called by his names anymore. He is really hurt about that." Andrew continued and when he saw Dawn's pale face, he softened. "He still loves you and your words must have hurt him really badly."

"But I never said anything to him like that." Dawn murmured.

Andrew turned his gaze to Buffy. The anger started to rise in him again. "You. I thought you were just pretending to be happy with Immortal. But I guess you really are happy. After everything Spike went through, you have forgotten about him and moved on so easily." He accused Buffy not noticing her pained expression on his words. "When we were in Sunnydale, I thought you loved him. But I guess it was not true as well. I don't know how you can be so cruel with your words like that." He said it with disgust. Buffy didn't reply. She was emotionally hurt. She couldn't come up with any words to explain.

But Angel was sitting there listening to Andrew babble about Spike. He knew Andrew cared about Spike the first time he saw him. But this reaction was not something he would have expected from this little kid. When he started to accuse Buffy, anger flared upon him. He was partially hoping Andrew's words were true. He decided to interfere since Buffy didn't respond to him.

"I think you should cool down Andrew. Whatever are Buffy's feelings for Spike is none of your concern. You cannot force her to love Spike when she doesn't. It is her decision and you need to leave it at that." His eyes glowed yellow for a moment showing his demon inside him.

With all the anger he was feeling, Andrew wasn't scared about Angel's threat. He stood up and argued back at him.

"Spike is my hero. No matter what others feel, I care about him. Even if he doesn't speak for himself, I will speak for him. And if people in this room don't care about him, then they deserve what I said."

Before Angel could respond, Buffy started to speak. "You're right Andrew. If people don't care about him, they deserve what you said. But me or Dawn are not those people. We care about him a lot. And I didn't say anything you said just now and Dawn didn't say it as well."

Andrew turned his look from Buffy to Dawn to see her nod her head. He was confused now. "Then why did he say those things to me?"

"We don't know yet. I think he must have been hallucinating from the torture he faced when he died. We are trying to find out more about it." Buffy explained.

Andrew was calm and ashamed a bit now. He was back at his normal style and was afraid of Buffy beating the crap out of him for his accusation. "I'm sorry." He said it with a soft voice.

"It's ok Andrew. We know you care about him as much as we do." Buffy replied to calm Andrew down. When everyone has settled back again in the table, Buffy started to speak again. "We must help him overcome this. Willow… Is there anyway we can figure out what happened?"

Andrew intervened before Willow spoke. "We must help him soon. He was talking about leaving us permanently or I got the impression he didn't want to be alive or rather undead anymore."

Willow replied quickly seeing the panicking look on her friend's face. "I might be able to figure out what happened but I don't know how to cure it though." When Buffy calmed down, she continued. "I can use a spell to project what happened to him in the last week but I cannot tell if I can erase them. It may not be possible."

"That's ok. Knowing what happened will be the first step to cure him from it." Buffy replied with confidence.

"Andrew. You go and bring Spike downstairs. He is only communicating with you right now. We will prepare for the spell." Buffy started to give the orders and Andrew flew out of the room to get his idol downstairs.

Willow and the rest were getting all the necessary items to use in the spell. Angel was showing them the locations of the candles and herbs needed for the spell. Dawn and the others were running around bringing the items to the hall. After a while, they saw Spike walking downstairs very slowly with Andrew holding his hand.

"What the bleeding hell is going down here?" Spike barked at Andrew seeing everyone in the hall.

"We are trying to help you Spike. Please trust me and come down." Andrew replied pulling his arms.

Spike tried to get free but with his weak self, even Andrew was stronger than him. He gave up and allowed Andrew to pull him downstairs. Andrew brought him to the center of the circle Willow has drawn in the hall. Willow sat in the circle along with Spike mumbling to himself. Willow nodded her head towards Buffy and Buffy moved closer to Willow.

"I will have to go into his mind to see what is happening. If you want, you can be there too." Willow whispered to Buffy already knowing the answer.

Buffy nodded in agreement and sat in the floor between Willow and Spike. Willow took hold of Spike's right hand and took hold of Buffy's left hand. Buffy noticed the movement and tried to take hold of Spike's left hand with her right hand. He tried to struggle his hand away but her grip was too strong for him to win. He grimaced and gave up letting his hand rest in her hand. They made a circle between them. Willow started to chant her spell while everyone else watched them from a distance.

"Beatus is animus quod take nos ut preteritus. Ostendo nos cruciatus quod ostendo nos causa." (Bless this soul and take us to the past. Show us the torture and show us the cause.)

A glow came from Spike and it went in through Willow and Buffy. A sudden shiver went through their bodies and both of them found themselves in a dark room. Buffy noticed the room instantly.

"This is where we found Spike. This is the place he was before."

Both of them walked towards and saw Spike hanging in the wall. This time they could get closer but Buffy couldn't touch Spike. Her hand went through him when she tried to touch him. She turned to Willow and saw the demon from her dream walking towards Spike. She nodded her head towards the demon to let Willow know. Willow turned around and saw the demon. Both of them stepped aside to see what was happening.

They listened to the conversation between the demon and Spike. They saw the torture and pain caused by the minions. They saw Spike passing out in pain. Buffy was shivering at the sight but held on together to see the whole show. They noticed Maricca coming into the room and putting her nails through Spike's head. Willow knew what was happening but Buffy was lost.

"It seems like this demon has tortured his soul. She gains strength and power from the torture a soul suffers. Spike has too many sins and memories. All the torture would have made her really strong and powerful." Willow explained.

Buffy just nodded. She was too emotional to speak. They saw Maricca moving to the corner and Angelus appearing in front of Spike.

"The soul is being tortured with hallucinating images. It will feel real and will be real for him. But in real, Angelus is not there." Willow kept explaining.

They saw him torture Spike and mocking him with rude comments. Spike passed out again and when he regained conscious, an old lady appeared in front of him. They heard Spike calling her "Mother?" They knew who it was then. They watched her torture Spike with her words and see Spike suffer. Buffy had tears running from her eyes now. Willow was on the verge of tears too.

After that hallucination, they saw Dawn appearing. Buffy mouthed "Dawn" silently. Willow was shocked too but she knew what was happening.

"Spike's soul is suffering from his worst nightmares. It will try to break the soul until it gives up on living."

Buffy and Willow listened to Dawn talk to Spike. The words were like hot pokers stabbing through Spike. The conversation about the rape made Buffy twitch with pain. Even she couldn't wait there listen to Dawn talk that way. 'It must have been hell for Spike' Buffy thought to herself.

Dawn disappeared and Spike looked as if he was totally broken. After a minute, Buffy appeared in front of him. The real Buffy shouted " i No /i " but nobody heard it but Willow. Buffy fell to her knees and listened to her virtual self torture Spike with words. Tears were running from her eyes like a waterfall listening to her own words. She didn't know what she could do to make Spike even look at her after hearing those words.

They saw the demon again now known as W&H to both of them. Buffy had pure anger and hatred in the look she was giving to the demon. She was determined to make the demon suffer for all that happened to Spike. She saw herself and Angel come into the room for rescue. They watched the battle and they saw Spike being taken away to open the portal. They heard W&H speak after they went through the portal.

There was a bright white light and when it faded away, they were back in the hall of Hyperion. Buffy clutched onto Spike's hand stronger now knowing what he has been through. Willow broke off and walked away from the circle to compose herself. Everyone was looking at both ladies waiting for an explanation.

**A/N :** I know Andrew's character seems different here. But I wanted him to grow up and be stronger than before. He already improved in Angel Season 5. I think this would be the next step for his character. Now they know what happened. But how will they cure Spike from it? And what is happening with the Slayers? PLEASE REVIEW.

**TBC…**


	20. Convincing Spike

**Chapter 19 :** Convincing Spike

**Disclaimer :** Joss Whedon owns the characters. Atleast most of them. I'm continuing the story which didn't end when he finished. Just want to have an ending.

**A/N :** Thanks for your patience. Hope the story is interesting. More chapters coming up. PLEASE REVIEW

* * *

"Is anyone going to explain what you saw?" Giles started the conversation in the library. Spike has gone back to his room with the help of Andrew and Buffy. He protested initially but Buffy kept her hold strong, he finally gave up. After settling him in his room, both of them returned to the library to have a chat with the rest.

"Spike was tortured by a Soul Torturer." Willow answered Giles' question.

"Oh Dear." Giles reacted to the response.

"What? What? What does that mean?" Dawn was starting to panic.

"His soul was tortured with emotions. His worst nightmares played as if they were true. He was emotionally broken by the torture." Buffy explained it to her sister. She didn't want to keep any secrets with her anymore.

"So what do we do? We can help him right?" Dawn questioned.

"I don't know Dawn. I don't know how to help him. It was really horrible. Apparently all who loved him was there to torture him. That includes you and me too." Buffy said controlling her emotions. She needs to be strong for her sister and Spike.

"Is there any spell to make him forget all that Giles?" Willow questioned the Watcher. Giles was thinking for a solution but he failed to come up with any answers.

"I assume the souls usually give up and die. Since Spike is a vampire, his soul was tortured more than humans." Giles explained his thoughts to the rest.

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Dawn asked impatiently. She needs Spike to be cured and back as himself. She didn't want to see him suffer anymore.

"Only thing we could do is to convince him that it was just a nightmare. But I've read about these tortures and I don't think it is a simple task."

"I'll try to convince him first." Buffy came forward. "He will listen to me whether he likes it or not."

"No Buffy." Angel protested. "This is too dangerous. Spike is thinking of you as enemy now. He may have become William the bloody if his soul has given up. Even with his weak strength, he may be able to kill you. I know that for sure."

"I know he will not hurt me. I know whatever he believes; his love for me is still there. I can feel it. He will listen to me. But I need all of you not to interfere whatever happens in that room." Buffy stated looking everyone in the eyes for confirmation. Most of them agreed but Angel didn't seem to agree.

"Angel?" Buffy raised her voice.

"Ok. But if there is any danger, give a call and I'll be there." He half-heartedly agreed.

"I doubt it. But I'll keep it in my mind." With that, Buffy moved towards Spike's room. She opened the door and went inside. She saw the room was just the way it was but Spike have got off the bed and crawled to the corner again. She locked the door and moved towards Spike.

"Go Away." Spike hissed.

"No. You must listen to me now." Buffy protested.

"Why? I am nothing to you. Why do you care? Go be with Immortal. Go live your bloody life." Spike was arguing like a child now.

"Yes. I can be with Immortal. I can live my life back at Rome. Then why am I still here? Why am I trying to talk to you when you don't want to talk to me?" Buffy questioned him.

Spike looked at her as if she was crazy. Buffy chuckled at his raising eyebrow expression. She has missed him and his looks for so long; she didn't want to leave him ever again. She moved forward and kneeled down in front of him looking him in the eyes. Spike looked at her and he didn't see any hatred or anger. Instead, he saw love and passion there. He was confused by her mixed emotions.

Buffy tried to hold his hands but he struggled. She didn't give up and finally he relaxed still keeping his eyes fixed with hers.

"You listen to me this time. I didn't have to go through hell to bring you back. I didn't have to cry my eyes out for you every time I see you get tortured. I went through it all and I will do it again to get you back. Do you know why?"

"Because you wanted to torture me more?" Spike said meekly.

"No damn it. It's because I love you. I will always love you. You are everything I want and I will do anything just to have you beside me." Buffy confessed.

"So what do you want me to do this time? How do you want me to sacrifice myself for those foolish words you tend to use on me? I will do it regardless but I think it would be easier for me to know it is a lie than believe it is the truth." Spike shot back without showing his emotions.

"I know what you heard from me earlier may seem real but it isn't. That wasn't me. I never said those words out of courtesy. You know me better than that. I loved you and I still love you. I was afraid to admit my feelings and when you were dying, I knew I had to tell you." Buffy continued to talk openly. She didn't want to hide her feelings anymore.

Spike looked at her with a glint of hope. Then he dismissed his feelings as foolish hope. "So you are asking me to believe that you really loved me back then and you still love me now? And whatever I heard was all a dream?" He saw Buffy nod her head and he fell back on the floor laughing.

Buffy looked at him thinking whether he has gone completely mad. When she saw him get up and sat back, she got a smile on her face looking at Spike. His face was showing some feelings other than hate and disgust this time.

"So you expect me to believe that? To be honest luv, I think this is the dream and that is the reality."

Buffy didn't reply back to him. Instead she took hold of his face and kissed him softly in his lips. He didn't kiss back but he didn't pull back either. She kissed him for a moment and then pulled back to look at his face. His eyes were closed and he did not open it still.

"Spike? What's wrong?" Buffy asked.

"I'm savoring this dream. Don't want to wake up from it."

"It is not a dream Spike. It is real. I'm here and I'm not going to leave you ever. Not even if you try to leave me."

Spike slowly opened his eyes to look at her. He saw honesty and love in her face. He relaxed and when she tried to hold his hand, he didn't resist.

"Spike. I love you more than anyone I can think of. You need to understand that. You don't know how much it hurt me when you didn't accept it that day on Hellmouth. I was finally admitting it and you rejected it. And when I heard you were alive, I thought you didn't love me anymore. Please don't tell me it's true." Buffy looked at him pleadingly.

"I don't know if this is a dream or not, but whatever it is, I will love you always. Even if you are treating me like you used to, it cannot take my love away from you pet. You should know that by now." Spike said it honestly.

Buffy was showing pure happiness and joy in her face at his declaration and calling her by his pet name. Happy tears were pouring out of her eyes like waterfall. Spike raised his hand to brush them off her cheeks. She leaned into his hand and rested her cheek in them. Spike looked at her with the same love he used to have. He still believed it was a dream but as long as it's there, he was going to enjoy it.

He reached out with both his hands and pulled Buffy into an embrace. He wanted to feel her and when she pulled him closer with all her strength, he felt good.

"You have no idea how much I missed you pet." He spoke softly close to her ears.

"Why didn't you call me? Why didn't you let me know that you were alive?" She asked him the question that has been bothering her all this time.

"At first, I couldn't. I was stuck as a ghost. When I corporeal again, I tried but there was an emergency here, I had to be here. After that, I got afraid. I remembered the last words you spoke in Hellmouth. I wanted to believe it luv; trust me on that. But I couldn't believe it completely. I mean how can you really love me? And I didn't want you telling me it was not true. I was happy to live with the illusion that you meant it. But then…" Spike remembered about his trip to Rome. He remembered about Buffy moving onto Immortal. He quickly pushed her away from his embrace.

Buffy was confused. She was enjoying the feeling of him and remembering how it felt to be in his embrace. She was barely listening to him and when he suddenly pulled away, she didn't know why. She quickly recaptured his words in her mind.

"And then what?" She questioned him.

Spike looked at her hard in her eyes. "Is this reality or is it an illusion?" He suddenly asked.

Buffy was more confused. "I told you Spike. This is the reality."

"So you are still with Immortal. Living your happy life in Rome?" Spike questioned her.

Then Buffy realized the reason for Spike's action. "Spike… I" before Buffy could finish, Spike interrupted.

"You don't have to explain. You have moved on and have a nice relationship with that poncy. I don't need an explanation. I am just from the past. You go live your life with the present."

"Will you let me explain?" Buffy burst out in anger. Spike's interruption and accusation got her frustrated.

Spike sat back silently crossing his arms and looking at her intently.

Buffy lowered her gaze. "I know you came to Rome with Angel and saw me with Immortal. And I know Andrew told you I was all happy with Immortal. But to tell the truth, I wasn't. I was mourning for your death for a long time; all my friends were worried about me. They wanted me to live my life. So I decided to pretend that I was happy with someone so that they can stop worrying about me."

Looking at Spike's unconvinced face, she continued. "I was not in love with him. I was in love with you. I didn't even know I loved you so much until you d… were gone in Hellmouth. If only you have called me before, I think I could have avoided being with him." She couldn't say the word 'died' because it brought too much of painful memories for her.

After some silence, Spike started to talk. "You know that I have a history with him right?" When he saw Buffy shake her head 'No', he continued to explain. "Immortal stole Darla and Drusilla from me and Angelus once. We both hated him ever since then. But it was nothing compared to seeing you with him that night." Buffy gave him a sad guilty look and he quickly changed his tone. "I'm not accusing you anything luv. It's just that it is kind of hard for me to accept that Immortal have touched you too." Buffy nodded her head to let him know she understood him.

"It's ok Spike. Don't worry. I'm not leaving you at all. You can take all the time you need and I'll be right here with you."

"And where does the poncy fall in all this?" he asked.

"Immortal and I were not in a serious relationship. It wasn't even a relationship. It was more like comforting and having fun. I doubt it he will be bothered about me gone. He might have called my place and since I'm here, he would have found someone else by now." Buffy answered convincingly.

"And that doesn't disturb you?" Spike questioned.

"When the reason for me needing him is right here in front of me, why would I be concerned about someone else ignoring me?" Buffy answered him with her own question. Spike smirked at her reply and she had a grin in her face too. She reached back and kissed him again in the lips. This time, Spike responded by capturing her lips with his own.

Both of them kissed for a while. Softly at the beginning turning into a passionate one. Buffy broke the kiss panting and both of them looked at each other in the eyes. They knew nothing have changed between them in all this time. Buffy pulled him up and he allowed her to help him walk back to the hall.

**A/N :** Spike is back with the team now. But what is happening with W&H? Continue to read to know about it. PLEASE REVIEW.

**TBC…**


	21. Meeting the Others

**Chapter 20 :** Meeting the Others

**Disclaimer :** Joss Whedon owns the characters. Atleast most of them. I'm continuing the story which didn't end when he finished. Just want to have an ending.

**A/N :** Thanks for your patience. Hope the story is interesting. More chapters coming up. PLEASE REVIEW

* * *

Spike walked back to the hall leaning on Buffy to meet the others. Everyone turned to look at them walk in together. Dawn was the one to react by jumping off the chair and running towards him. She collided onto him with full force; he went off balance and fell on the floor with her still clinging onto him.

Raising her head from his chest, Dawn looked at him worried. "Gosh Spike. I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?"

Spike managed to hide the pain coming from his wounded body and smiled at her reassuringly. "I'm ok Nibblet. Missed you a lot all this time. You have no idea how hard it has been."

Dawn smacked in his chest playfully. "Why did you be so mean to me earlier?" She looked at him accusingly.

Spike had a grin in his face at her action. "I'm sorry Nibblet. I was a total ass before. Forgive me?" When she smiled back at him, he got a smile on his face too.

"I'm sorry Spike. I'm sorry for what I said in Sunnydale to you. I'm sorry for being so mean to you." Dawn looked at him apologetically.

"I'm the one in the wrong end Bit. I only hurt you and sister by…" Spike couldn't say the words. "I'm sorry for everything. I hope you can forgive me one day." Dawn smiled back at him and gave him a peck on his cheek. "Everything is already forgiven and forgotten." She gave him a smile to reassure him.

"Ok Dawn. You can get up now. Spike still needs to heal remember?" Buffy helped her sister get up and then slipped an arm around Spike to support him.

"Hey William. Nice to see you alive still." Angel sneered at Spike.

"Angelus." Spike hissed remembering his memories.

Buffy rested her hand on Spike's chest to control him. He turned to look at her and the look in her eyes calmed him down.

"Hey deadboy. Nice to see you not so crazy anymore." Xander commented and patted his shoulder.

"Great. Now even the Whelp is commenting on me." A look from Buffy made his cocky tone change. "Thanks Whelp."

"So Spike, care to explain who was there torturing you and why?" Giles asked while cleaning his glasses.

"I don't know much. It was W&H torturing me. Apparently the apocalyptic attack was supposed to be his entrance to our dimension and our victory has stopped him from coming through. He was pissed off and was using me to satisfy his anger. And also there was this Dru look-alike lady in there. She had big nails like needles." Spike frowned at the thought.

"We know. Willow and I saw what you went through. And the lady was killed during your rescue. Courtesy of Illyria." Buffy pointed towards Illyria who was being silent and standing in the corner avoiding the other humans.

"Hey Blue. Nice to see you alive still." Spike gave her a smile and she nodded her head.

"It is my honor to spar with you again half-breed. You fought well and proved to be a worthy champion."

"I don't know about that." Buffy gave him a playful smack and with a grin, Spike continued. "But I will be sparring with you after I get healed."

"I will wait." Illyria replied.

"Hey Red, Nice to know you still have the touch after Sunnydale." Willow blushed at his comment.

"Now that everyone is acknowledged, can we get back to the matter please?" Giles said impatiently.

"Some people never change huh Rupert?" Spike mocked at Giles who shrugged it off.

"Right. Back on the matter. I don't know much. That woman stuck her needle in my head and that's all I know about them. The rest were nightmares according to Buffy. And trust me it felt real. I have the wounds in my body from them."

"Wounds from nightmares?" Andrew asked.

"It is possible that when the soul felt the injury, it reflected it in the physical body." Giles explained.

"Oh. Scary" Andrew sat down scared at the thought.

"I guess we should explain it then." Buffy started. "When we were watching Spike's past during the spell, we saw the demon talking with that woman. He was asking about an army of some sort and she said it was getting prepared. I don't know if it was ready or not. I was sort of distracted." Buffy looked at Spike to notify her distraction.

"I didn't hear anything either Giles." Willow agreed with her friend.

"I wonder if this has anything to do with the sudden attack on Slayers. So far, four Slayers have been killed in battle. The demons that attacked them proved to be strong. But nobody knows who they were or where they live. They come and attack the Slayers and after killing them, they disappear." Giles explained the earlier situation to everyone.

"Whatever it is, we must focus on it now. I think this might be big. I saw the demon army that came through the portal Giles. It was pretty big. And I think this attack might be stronger than before. We must be prepared for it."

"I have already sent Faith and Kennedy along with the other Slayers to Cleveland in case there is an attack from the Hellmouth. It is the only one left now after Sunnydale was destroyed. We must research more on the demons and figure out if it is anything related to W&H."

"Meanwhile, I'll help Spike get healed. We need him in the battle with us." Buffy said while clutching onto Spike.

"Don't worry about me pet. Get me a couple of blood bags and I'll be ready before you are."

"Come on Spike. I'll get you the blood bags." Angel showed the way to the blood store in his room. Spike followed him walking by himself leaving the others in the library.

When they got to the storage, Angel handed Spike a couple of blood bags and took one for himself. Both of them drank from their bags together. After emptying the bags, they threw it in the garbage. Angel sat on his bed and Spike stood there knowing Angel wanted to talk.

"So did you hear anything from Lorne?" Spike started the conversation.

"I couldn't reach him anywhere. I think he made it though. Lorne said he will disappear after killing Lindsey for me. He was not made for these battles. He deserves his peace." Spike just nodded his head in agreement.

"So you met W&H huh?"

"Ya. Dirty old bugger. Nasty head and has a really cracky voice."

"I'm sorry for being the cause of this."

"Ah… It's nothing mate. All in the line of doing the good deed right? Don't worry about it. I made the choice and I will stand by it."

"And what about your choice now?" Angel asked Spike looking at him intently.

"What are you on about now Peaches?"

"What is your choice about Buffy? Are you going to be around her again now?" Angel asked showing his frustration to his grand childe.

"It's none of our business. But for your information, she wants me to be around her and I'll be a fool not to be."

"She deserves a normal life. A life without demons and Slayers. I don't think you or I can give her that." Angel was trying to convince Spike.

"Don't you think I bloody know it? If she wants me around, she will have me. I'm not you. I don't leave the ones I love. I'll be there with her and if you don't like it, too bad for you." Spike smirked and Angel glared showing his demon side in his expression.

"Spike, I've known you for a long time. Trust me when I say, you are not good enough for her. Let her live her own life. Let her be in peace. Because if she is around you, it will bring her trouble. Like her risking her life to rescue you. She could have been killed back there. You must let her go."

"You don't get it do you? She wants me around. I can't abandon her. I don't plan to. I care too bloody much about her to hurt her like that. I tried to stay away but it was harder than I imagined. And now I know that she loves me, I don't plan on giving that up for anyone or anything. So you can shut your pie hole and let her live her life by herself." With that, Spike turned around and walked away from Angel.

Spike found Buffy waiting for him in the hallway. She looked at him and knew something was troubling him.

"What's wrong Spike?" She asked while circling her arms around his waist.

"Nothing luv. Just had a chat with Peaches back there. You sure you want me around right?" Spike asked to convince himself.

"More than anything in my life." Buffy confirmed him and both gave a pleasant smile to each other.

"Buffy, I need to ask you something." Giles walked in and ruined their moment.

"What is it Giles?" Buffy asked her Watcher hiding her irritation at his interruption.

"I have been looking through some of the books available in the library. And I was wondering if you knew the soul torturer's name. I could be able to figure out what kind of army she was raising."

"I think her name was Maria or something like that." Buffy answered thinking back at the moments of her memory trip.

"Her name is Maricca. She is one of the ancient soul torturers in the demon world. She raises strength and creates an army as her partner wishes, passing her strength to all of them." Illyria walked in and answered Giles' question.

"Oh Good. You know about her. Then you can assist me on information."

"I'm not here to satisfy your mortal demands. I wish to spar with my pet now." Illyria replied looking back at Spike.

"Tell you what pet. If you could help out old Rupert here, you can spar with the both of us. How does that sound?" Spike said holding Buffy by his side.

"Very well. I need more challenge to prepare for the upcoming battle." Illyria agreed and walked away with Giles to the library.

"Since when did you start to make my decisions?" Buffy asked him pouting.

"Don't worry pet. It will be fun like the old times. She's quite strong and it will take both of us to take her down. And I'll make it worth the while." Spike said and gave Buffy a peck on her lips.

"If you say so. Just don't make me mad to kill you off ok?" With that, they both walked back into the training room to get prepared.

**A/N :** Everyone is getting ready for the upcoming battle. Continue to read and don't forget to REVIEW.

**TBC…**


	22. Illyria’s Return

**Chapter 21 :** Illyria's Return

**Disclaimer :** Joss Whedon owns the characters. Atleast most of them. I'm continuing the story which didn't end when he finished. Just want to have an ending.

**A/N :**This chapter is dedicated totwotoe and his family. Hope it comforts you through your hard time. My heartfelt sympathies for you and your family. More chapters coming up. PLEASE REVIEW

* * *

Giles was going through the books looking for information. When he didn't find any, he turned his look to Illyria. 

"What do you know about Wolfram and Hart?"

"At my time, they were a weak demon group. I didn't know them personally. I did not meet the person who is called Wolfram and Hart. However, I know he has grown up on his demonic actions since my time."

"What kind of army would you think he could possess?"

"There are many demons that have extinct since my time. I do not know whom he may possess but I wish to be strong when he does attack. If it is any demon from my time, I need my strength to battle with him."

"And what exactly happened to you to lose your strength?" Giles questioned her.

"The fusion between my demon essence and my shell seems to be deteriorating. It's as if the shell can no longer contain the demonic power within me. Wesley and the others reduced my essence to save me from exploding."

"And you need the essence back again to fight?" Giles said understandingly.

"Yes. I wish your Witch could do something about that."

"It's not up to me. We can ask the others and hear their opinion on this matter."

"Aren't you the leader for them? I seem to see the Slayer and the others tend to listen to you. Can you not make them do this?" Illyria asked her doubt.

"It's not how it works. We consult and come to an agreement on our actions. That's how we work." Giles explained to her.

"I cannot understand human actions in this time. You remind me of Wesley. He tried to teach me about humans and their behaviors. I miss our intercourse."

"Your **_What_**?" Giles looked shocked.

"Our communication." Illyria explained.

Giles calmed down at that. "Let's go talk to the others shall we?" Giles walked away hiding his embarrassed face.

He managed to get everyone back together for another meeting. He started the conversation.

"So far, we haven't got much information about the demons that attacked the Slayers. We have to assume the worst and think it is part of W&H's plan. After speaking with Illyria, these demons can be pretty strong for normal attacks provided they are from her time. She wants us to give her back her demon essence to defend herself and help us in the process."

"No." Xander objected immediately. "How can we trust her? She is a demon god for Christ's sake. I don't think we can trust her with more power."

"What do you think Angel? You have been with her for a while now. You must have an opinion." Giles directed his question to Angel.

"We thought she was a threat initially. But so far she has been helping us. But I don't know returning her essence will be such a good idea. She might break down like before." Angel told his opinion.

"I give my word I wish you no harm. I simply would like to defend myself in case of any danger." Illyria spoke to the group.

"I think we should trust Blue Bird there. We have been fighting alongside for a while now and I trust her to be on our side." Spike said his opinion.

"How can we trust her? She is a demon god. Are you forgetting about Glory?" Xander was still objecting.

"You didn't trust me either Whelp. And I ended up saving your ass in Hellmouth. I know her well enough to trust her. She will not harm any of you or other humans. You can have my word on that." Spike replied back. Xander settled down after that.

"Are you sure about this Spike?" Buffy raised her concern.

"I am pet. She is a real fighter. When she was strong, all of us combined couldn't even touch her. We need all the help we can get for this battle if this threat is as big as it seems."

"Ok then. You heard him. I think it is fair to say she was strong in the battle before. She will be stronger in the upcoming battle. We must have all the strength we can get. Will, can you do anything about bringing back her essence?" Buffy asked her friend going into Slayer mode.

"I can try. Are you sure Buffy?" Seeing the determined face of her friend, Willow continued. "I may be able to bring back her essence. But I need to prepare for it first." She got up to walk away to get the items needed.

"Don't forget to make her shell strong too Red. Her body must be able to handle the essence or else we will be back to square one." Spike called back at Willow. She turned and nodded her head before walking away.

"So we'll have to wait and see what happens" Dawn spoke and everyone waited in the library chatting with each other.

* * *

After a few hours, Willow called everyone to the room where she has prepared for the ritual to bring Illyria's essence back in her body. 

"I need all of you to step back and can I hold your hands?" she asked Illyria who answered her by extending her hands towards Willow.

Willow held both of Illyria's hands and started to murmur something in Latin. Everyone kept quite and watch her chant with admiration.

"Reverto everto tergum huic crusta. Tribuo vires teneo in ut substantia." (Return the demon back in this shell. Give the strength to hold on to the essence.)

Willow spoke the final words and black cloud came over both of them. Willow was shaking and Illyria stayed as she always does very calmly. The cloud passed through her body and her body turned to Fred for a moment. Then she turned back herself and the cloud disappeared. Everything in the room came back to normal and Willow looked exhausted.

Xander walked in quickly to take hold of Willow. Illyria was looking at her hands strangely. Then she turned to the others in the room.

"I feel my strength in me. I am grateful for your trust in me. I will offer my assistance on the upcoming battle."

"She doesn't look that strong to me." Buffy whispered to Spike on Illyria's appearance.

"Trust me pet. She is very stronger than the way she looks."

"I guess it is time for our spar practice huh?" Spike grinned at her in response.

"I will very much like that." Illyria stepped forward answering Buffy's question.

All three of them walked back to the training room to practice their fighting skills.

The others went to the library to research on the demons that attacked the Slayers.

* * *

After a couple of hours, Spike and Buffy came back looking exhausted. Illyria looked the same but she had a satisfied look on her face. 

"Wow. I didn't expect her to be that fast and strong." Buffy appreciated Illyria's fighting skills. She was impressed by the agility and speed not to mention time freezing talent shown by Illyria.

"I guess you know how I felt when I faced her for the first time." Seeing Buffy pout, Spike just grinned at her in response.

"I assume the practice went well." Angel commented. He didn't join the practice because he didn't want to see Spike and Buffy fighting together. He couldn't accept her being with him.

"It was quite refreshing. The half-breed and Slayer moved quite well. They have a combined ability to read each other's moves. They will be very useful together in the upcoming battle." Illyria approved the couple. They just looked at each other and Buffy blushed when she realized what Spike had in his mind on Illyria's words.

"Well, as far as we know so far, these demons come and go as they please. And they seem very strong in their attacks. Also, most of the attacks have been in America. It hasn't gone to other places yet. So I assume they must have some sort of base in here somewhere." Giles mentioned all they knew so far.

"Let me see if I can get any more information through my sources." Angel walked away towards the phone to call his contacts.

"Was there any description on the demons?" Buffy asked Giles.

"Vaguely. Whoever saw them noticed only from a distance. Nobody who faced them up close and personal has survived so far which make them really dangerous. The descriptions of these demons say they are quite tall and built with leopard skin. They have spikes on their shoulders and seem to be able to smash through walls and tombstones with their bare hands. "

"Seems like a rough crowd." Spike commented.

"If I'm not mistaken, these demons are known as Grokshie demons. They were predatory demons during my time. Some of the powerful demons at that time joined together and destroyed their extinction. I believe it will be very strong army if W&H has managed to create a mass number of them." Illyria participated in the discussion.

"Oh. That narrows down the search then. Willow; contact the coven see what you can find about Grokshie demons and whether there are any spells that could be used to battle them. I'll call the council and see if they know anything about these demons from their library. The rest of you take some rest or research in these books about these demons. We must be ready for them and they can attack anytime they want."

They departed in various directions to do their tasks. Spike and Buffy moved upstairs and Illyria went back into the training room to practice more. Dawn, Andrew and Xander continued to look through the books.

* * *

When Buffy and Spike reached Buffy's room, Spike hesitated to enter. Buffy felt his hesitation and turned to look at him. 

"What's wrong Spike?"

"Nothing luv. Just wondering whether I should come in. Maybe we should wait till the whole mess is over." Spike reasoned.

"I remember putting back the feelings before the fight with the First. And I thought I missed my chance to tell you how much I loved you after that. I'm not going to take that chance again. So shut up and come inside." With that, Spike entered her bedroom.

Once inside, Buffy got comfortable and sat in the bed. Spike was standing and after seeing the look in Buffy's face, he sat beside her. She leaned into his shoulder and rested her head in there.

"This is going to be a bigger battle than with the First. It may not go as smoothly as last time." Buffy spoke softly. Spike has put an arm around her and was rubbing her shoulder to comfort her.

"We can come through it luv. We both have died and came back remember? Nothing kept us apart and nothing will keep us apart again."

"I don't want to lose you again Spike. I don't think I can cope with you gone again."

"Don't have to pet. I don't plan on leavin and I don't intend to loose you again either." Spike said comforting her.

"Can you hold me again Spike? I missed us together like we used to." Buffy pleaded with her eyes.

"Sure thing." Buffy moved and lay in the bed comfortably and allowed Spike to cuddle to her close. Spike put and arm around her and she squeezed herself close to him as much as she could.

They stayed that way for a while both looking into each others' eyes. After a while, Buffy reached up and touched her lips softly on Spike's lips. It started very tender and soft but it turned into more passionate and aggressive. Her tongue flickered against his lips as she tried to force her way into his mouth. He opened his mouth willingly for her tongue to enter and wrestled it with his own tongue. Buffy's hands were roaming on Spike's chest and she put her arm around his neck to pull him closer to her face.

They kissed for a couple of minutes and Buffy pulled back to take a deep breath. She had fire in her eyes with passion and lust. Spike saw it and when she tried to kiss him again, he pulled back. Buffy looked at him confused.

"Are you sure luv? Do you want this now?" Buffy was confused by his question but remembered that this was the first time they were getting involved passionately since the bathroom attempt. She understood his hesitation.

"More than anything. But if you don't want to, we don't have to." She was giving him the freedom to decide. Spike answered by crushing his lips on hers aggressively as she did a couple of minutes ago.

**A/N :** Sorry for cutting with that. I am trying to keep it on the rating and I'm not very good in writing sexual situations. Continue to read and don't forget to REVIEW.

**TBC…**


	23. Lovers’ Quarrel

**Chapter 22 :** Lovers' Quarrel

**Disclaimer :** Joss Whedon owns the characters. Atleast most of them. I'm continuing the story which didn't end when he finished. Just want to have an ending.

**A/N :** Thanks for your patience. I appreciate all the reviews. Please keep encouraging me to get more chapters. Hope the story is interesting. More chapters coming up. PLEASE REVIEW

* * *

Buffy woke up feeling completely relaxed. She hasn't felt so peaceful and comfortable for a long time. She slowly opened her eyes to look around to see where she was. Her eyes saw the reason for her calmness sleeping next to her holding her close. She got a smile on her face remembering the recent events and she snuggled in closer.

Spike's face was calm and he looked like a child. Buffy never had the chance to see him sleep next to her. Not even when they had their weird relationship did she wait long enough to see him sleep. He didn't look like the big bad he pretends to be. He looked more like an angel. At that thought, she reached up and gave a soft kiss on his lips.

Spike woke up at the sudden feeling of Buffy's lips on his. But it withdrew quickly and he missed the contact. He reached up and captured her lips making sure she knew he was awake. They both kissed each other tenderly. And after the soft kisses, Spike opened his eyes to look at the beautiful lady in his arms.

"Morning luv" Spike murmured.

"Morning. Last night was amazing." Buffy reddened at the thought of last night's moments.

"I think there is still room to improve. Care to wager?" Spike teased her after seeing her blush.

"Not right now. Have to talk. Must clarify some things before…" Buffy wanted to clear her questions in her mind.

"Now luv? I think there is more time don't you think?"

"No Spike. We must get out soon and join the others. I wanted to ask them last night but kind of got distracted."

"I've noticed." Spike smirked and Buffy blushed at his response.

"So what do you want to know pet?"

"What have you been doing in LA all this time? I mean I know why you didn't come to see me. What were you doing in here?" Buffy asked trying to find a way to ask her question.

"Was helping Angel and their team out. Angel was running the evil corporation trying to solve problems from the inside. But they were doing a piss poor job at it. So I decided to help the innocents from the outside. A guy who pretended to be working for the powers made me think I was the new champion of the people and all that crap." Spike explained.

"So you were being the hero in LA?" Buffy trying to hide her giggles at that thought.

"Hey! I was doing a good job helping the innocents in the street you know? I only stopped and came back here after getting my hands chopped off."

"You got your hands chopped off? How did that happen?" Buffy asked shocked at the information.

"Your crazy Dana Slayer chick thought I was someone from her past. She drugged me from behind and when I was unconscious, she chopped off my hands. Got them fixed thanks to the Evil Inc."

"Oh… I'm sorry. I should have come instead of Andrew to retrieve her. I could have stopped her. I was mourning for you then, I didn't feel like coming back to see Angel and his corporation. So I sent Andrew." Buffy said guiltily.

"No need to feel bad luv. Nothing lost in here. Got my digits working back and I am with you now. So don't worry about the past." Spike comforted her.

"We tried to help her after taking her back. But we couldn't. We had to lock her up and keep her safe."

"Told Peaches she was too far gone for any help. Feel sorry for the bird. Suffered a lot in her teenage." Spike said remembering the moments.

"So tell me about Illyria. She seems very cozy with you and keeps calling you her pet. What's up with that?" Buffy finally managed to ask her question.

Spike smirked at her question. "Jealous Slayer?" He grinned at her.

"Ofcourse I am. You are mine and only mine. How can she call you her pet?" Buffy said pouting. "Besides, she told you cared about her shell. Was it 'Fred' or something? Kind of a guy name if you ask me. Illyria told me you said you loved her."

"Her name was Winifred. But she shortened it to Fred. She was my close friend in here. When I was a ghost, she was the only one who believed in me. She tried her best to make me corporeal. She is a very caring person and I do love her. But I'm not in love with her." Spike explained.

"Oh." Buffy said sheepishly. She was being a jealousy woman and didn't realize what he felt.

"Besides, wasn't it you who was involved with Immortal. I don't think you can judge me even if I was in a relationship with someone." Spike opened up the can of worms with that comment.

"Jeez… Can you give up your vampire jealousy thing already? I told you before. I was not in a relationship with him and I was definitely not in love with him. So start dealing with it ok?" Buffy blasted at him for his comment.

"Oh I'm sorry. Forgive me for not understanding that the woman I love was with a poncy like Immortal after my death. How careless of me?" Spike mocked her.

"You really need to get over your ego and start to understand other peoples' feelings. Sometimes you show how much of a pig you are. Even the soul cannot change that. When you decide to get over it, let me know." With that, Buffy got up from the bed and went into the bathroom slamming the door full force.

Spike stared at the bathroom door for a few moments. Then he got off the bed and got dressed and walked out of the room to the hall to find Angel's stock of alcohol.

"You know early drinking is really bad for your health?" Spike turned to see Xander standing behind him smiling.

"What do you want Whelp?"

"Just wondering what you were doing here early this morning instead of being with the woman you love."

"It's not all moonlight and roses and rising music as I guessed it would be." Spike commented while taking a gulp from his glass.

"Let me guess. You and Buffy had a fight. So what else is new?" Xander mocked him.

"Seems like that's all we do all the time."

"Spike. I know I'm not your best friend and you know how I feel about you. But you need to take it easy with her man. She's been through a lot and I think you need to be more understanding with her." Xander advised Spike.

"Since when do you start caring about our relationship?" Spike said surprised.

"Let me just say after Anya's death, a lot of things made sense to me. I was stubborn like you and it cost her. I don't want to see you make the same mistake like I did. So go and talk with her. Both of you love each other but both of you are as thick headed as they come."

Spike looked at Xander thinking. Then with a sudden urge, he got off the chair passed Xander towards the steps. Before he made it to the top, he turned to say "Thanks Xander." Xander raised the glass of scotch to Spike and downed it with one shot.

Spike made it to the room and opened the door looking for Buffy. She was nowhere to be seen in the room and he looked in the bathroom for her. When he couldn't find her, he ran downstairs looking for her all around. He made it to the basement and found her in the training room punching the life out of the punching bag.

"Hey luv, care to talk?" Spike tried to start the conversation.

"A world of No." Buffy's voice was stone cold.

"So let's dance then." Spike stood in a fighting stance. Buffy left the bag and came towards him. She tried to punch him but he blocked her. She kicked him in the mid section making him stumble back and before he regained, she punched him straight in the face making him fall back in the floor. Spike jumped up and advanced towards her. She swung at him again but he took hold of her arm and pulled her while circling her with his other arm. She struggled and head butted him making him loose his grip and gave him a kick. Spike steadied and when she charged at him next time, he easily avoided her making her loose her balance. He took hold of her from behind and carried her in the air and slammed her into the floor. Before she could get up, he was over her holding her arms over her head. She had anger in her eyes and also some pain. Spike melted at a look at her face.

"Buffy… Luv, please listen to what I have to say. Then if you want, you can beat the crap out of me." It seemed to make her relax and Spike eased up on his grip. He moved away from her body and sat on the floor and she got up and sat on the floor next to him but didn't look at him.

"Buffy, I didn't mean what I said back in the room." Spike started nervously looking all around but her.

"I know you think I was trying to hurt you but it was not my intention. I will never hurt you Buffy. You need to believe that. I… I… I was scared." Spike said stumbling for words. Buffy looked at him but seeing him not looking at her, she turned away.

"Remember the time before the battle with the first when I held you close to me? It was the first time you let me be with you. The real you and that made me scared at that time. It was the best moment of my life and it was the first time anyone ever did that to me. And last night when we made love, it was the first time we did it with love. All those times when we had sex before, it was just physical. Last night was the first time we were together and it was more than words to me. I don't think heaven could even reach up to what I felt last night and that scared the shit out of me. I didn't feel worthy of your love. I was terrified and I tried to hide it by what I said." Spike spoke while hanging his head down looking at the floor ashamed and embarrassed.

Spike didn't notice Buffy turning towards him and moving close to him. When she held his head with both of her hands, he looked up at her seeing her eyes glistering with tears. She reached forward and gave him a kiss on his lips very gently. When she pulled back, she murmured "I'm sorry too." into his ears.

Both of them embraced each other holding themselves close. After a while, they parted and Buffy started to speak.

"I'm sorry for what I said too. I was already feeling guilty for being with Immortal in the first place and you putting that in my face hurt my feelings. And as for last night, it was as emotional for me as it was for you. I didn't even feel that much of love and passion for Angel when we were together. But unlike you, I didn't feel terrified. I felt complete. I finally had my perfect happiness and I didn't feel the need to be scared about it. I know you think you are not worthy of it but trust me. If anyone is not worthy, it's me. After everything I put you through, you still love me is bloody amazing." Both of them chuckled at Buffy's choice of words.

"Believe me Spike, when I say I love you, I mean it with every cell in my body. I love the way you love me. I love the way you treat me. I love you for your good side and your bad side. I love the way you care about everyone I care about. I love the way you go to heaven and hell just for me. And I think we both have done that in our lives."

"Technically pet, I haven't been to heaven yet. Other than last night." Spike smirked at her. Buffy giggled.

"I Love You Goldilocks."

"I Love You William."

Both of them started to kiss each other passionately and when things started to heat up, a coughing sound from the doorway disturbed them. Looking up, they saw Giles standing by the door embarrassed at what was in front of him.

"Buffy, when you can, we must talk about the battle plan. There have been interesting developments recently." he said and walked away from the door.

Both looked at each other with an annoyed look. Spike got up first and helped Buffy stand up. Both of them straightened their dresses and Spike said "duty calls. Back to work." They walked towards the door hand in hand.

**A/N :** Wanted to give them a chapter to talk about their feelings. Action stuff up ahead. Continue to read and don't forget to REVIEW.

**TBC…**


	24. Calm Before The Storm

**Chapter 23 :** Calm Before The Storm

**Disclaimer :** Joss Whedon owns the characters. Atleast most of them. I'm continuing the story which didn't end when he finished. Just want to have an ending.

**A/N :** I'm sorry for the long delay. Lots of changes in my lifestyle took my time away from my stories.Hope the story is interesting. More chapters coming up. PLEASE REVIEW

* * *

When Spike and Buffy got to the library, they saw everyone already settled waiting for them. They entered inside and closed the door avoiding others from hearing their plan. They took seats next to each other holding their hands under the table. Xander looked up and saw their faces and knew they have settled their issues. Giles started the topic and breaking the silence. 

"So, there have been recent sightings of the demon we have been looking for in L.A. I have strong belief that this could be the centre to their location and we must take advantage of this information as soon as possible."

"Where are the demons?" Angel asked.

"A warehouse not so far from here. This is the address of the exact location." Giles passed a piece of paper towards Angel who looked at it.

"I know this place. Been there once for a case. Quite a big warehouse and definitely a possibility to have demons in there." Angel clarified.

"So that's settled then. We go, we fight, we kill, we save the world again. Simple as that." Xander spoke up.

"I know this would be an irrational decision but I would have to agree. The demons have already started to invade L.A. and they must be stopped before they spread all around. I have informed Faith and the other Slayers to be here by sunset. We must be ready for the attack and be strong as always."

"Wow Giles… Never pictured you as the fight first ask questions later guy. Nice speech." Willow complimented and Giles cleaned his glasses.

"We should get ready then." Dawn started to get off her chair but stopped by a voice.

"You are not going to be in the battle Nibblet." Spike spoke with clear voice. Everyone sat down and watched the show in front of them.

"And why not?" Dawn looked annoyed.

"Because its dangerous and I don't want you to get hurt." Spike turned to look at Buffy with disbelief. "You are seriously not going to let her involve are you?"

"You try stopping her. She is an uncontrollable tornado when it comes to stuff like this. And she has been fighting before the battle with the first. She has been training ever since and I am quite sure she can handle herself. She's not a kid anymore."

"I know she isn't. But whatever we must face is going to be stronger than anything. I don't want her to get hurt."

"So you don't trust in me huh?" Dawn asked looking angry at him.

"It's not about trust lil'bit. You know I trust you and you can handle yourself. But if for some reason a demon got lucky, I will not be able to forgive myself." Spike confessed.

Dawn's look eased up upon his confession. "Don't worry Spike. Everything will be alright. You'll see how good I am once I start to fight."

"Ok. Only on one condition… You stand behind me. Cover my back and always be beside me. That's the only way you will be involved in this fight." Spike still wasn't fully convinced.

"Deal" Dawn looked happy at the final verdict.

"Now that it is settled, we must get prepared." Giles announced and everyone went in their way to be ready for the battle.

* * *

Xander was looking out the window when someone came into his room knocking the door. He turned around to look at Willow standing at the doorstep. 

"Hey, can I intrude?" Willow was hesitating.

"Come on Will. You know you are always welcome." Xander turned to sit in the bed welcoming her to join him.

"Ya. Just that we haven't spoken to each other for a while and I miss us having our chats. Just wanted to know how you are doing." Willow sat next to him.

"I'm doing ok. Interesting few weeks but what else is new when it comes to the Scoobies huh?" Xander tried to humor but failed miserably.

"Come on Xander. You are talking to me now. Tell me how's everything." Willow can see through his shields.

"Nothing is like the same without Anya. Even when I didn't marry her, I always thought we will end up together eventually. Then the issue of Spike, and then the first got in the middle. But at the end, we were getting back together. And then I lost her again. And this time, I don't see any way to get back together again." Xander confessed.

"I know how you feel. I miss Tara almost every single day. It doesn't seem right to go on without her. But I know she would want me to. Just like I know Anya would want you to." Xander simply nodded.

"So how was Africa?"

"Nice. Quite peaceful compared to our country. Heard about the demon Spike went to get his soul from too. It was kind of a miracle down at that place. No one has ever survived the trials before. Made Spike even more unique than he knows. Kind of impressed myself at him."

"I see you getting along with him now. Seems like you guys are becoming friends."

"Wow Willow. I wouldn't go that far." Xander defended. "We are on speaking terms. I appreciate what he did and I believe in his feelings now. I can feel how he felt when Buffy was gone in that summer."

"Listen to yourself. All wisdom and knowledge. Are you sure you are the same Xander who gives annoying comments to everyone?" Willow teased him. Xander smiled at that.

"A lot of things change when a person grows up. How's everything with you and Kennedy?" Willow's smile disappeared on hearing her name.

"Kind of on rocks if you know what I mean. After Tara, I didn't believe I could love anyone else. But Kennedy was persistent. And I liked being with her. But she is nothing like Tara. It feels weird."

"You know Will, each person will be different. You cannot think they would be like how you want them to be."

"I know. But for some reason, I feel that she wants me to be only with her and not with all of you guys. That's the reason she took me to Brazil."

"Well… if you ask me, make sure you know what is going on before you get any deeper. Don't be in a relationship unless you believe in it. You must live your life for yourself. Not for others."

"I will take that advice when you take that yourself." With that, Willow left the room with a smile. She felt good after their heartfelt talk.

* * *

"Hey Dawn, what are you doing?" Andrew asked from the doorstep. 

"Just thinking. Come on in." Dawn invited him in.

"Thinking about what?"

"The big battle. Duh!"

"Are you afraid?"

"No. You?"

"No."

Both sat beside each other in silence. Both were fidgeting.

"Ya. I'm afraid. This is like Lord Of The Rings battle finale. We are going to have to attack Mordor. We will be traveling to a certain death to save mankind." Andrew was babbling.

"Andrew. Can you please i Shut Up /i ?" Dawn yelled at him. Andrew went to complete silence.

"I know you are scared. I am too. But we have all the people we need and we will be safe. Trust in that." Andrew simply nodded.

"God. I can't believe how dorky you can be and suddenly you are all strong to face the Slayer." Dawn was speaking to herself loudly.

"You thought I was strong?"

"Ya. The way you stood up to my sister for Spike really was something."

"Oh that. Caught up in the moment. I didn't like to see him so broken because of others."

"You care about him a lot huh?"

"Eh… yeah. He is like the strongest and bravest man I've known ever. He is like superman without flying powers. He saves the world and sacrifices himself for love and honor and I don't know many people who would do that."

"I know Andrew. I care about him too. He was my best friend ever. We talk about a lot of stuff. He used to tell me stories of his past. Whether or not others believed him to be good, I always believed in him. And when Buffy came back alive, everything just started to fall apart. And when I knew what he did, I hated him so much, I forgot about how I felt about him. I didn't trust my heart. And it caused me to loose my friend." Dawn sobbed at the remembrance of past.

"I don't know Dawn. From what I see, Spike never had any bad feelings about you. I know that for sure. He always cared about you. He tries to put a big bad boy act but inside he is very soft. He even taught me how to make flowering onions." Both of them smiled at that.

"You know Andrew… When you are not talking about your stupid comics, you can actually be very sweet." Dawn said and touched his cheek with her palms. Andrew blushed at her action. He got up and walked to the door. Before he left, he turned around and looked at Dawn.

"So let's go be heroes." With that, he left the room.

* * *

Buffy and Spike are in their room holding onto each other lost in the feelings of being with each other. The whole world seemed in a distance for them. They didn't want to end the moment but they knew they would have to sometime. 

"We are not going to have a walk in a park with this one." Buffy broke the silence of their moment.

"I know."

"I don't want you to take any stupid risks you hear? I want your ass back safe and sound. Or else I'll find you wherever you are and kick your bloody undead ass." Spike smiled at her and gave a kiss to her forehead.

"Where else would I want to be other than beside you? Even heaven would be hell without you by my side."

"Make sure you remember that in the fight ok?"

"Same applies to you too." Buffy was silent.

"Did you hear me luv? Don't you dare be the big chosen one and try to do everything by yourself. We fight together and we stay together."

"I understand."

"Make sure you do because if you leave again, I will have a walk into the sunshine. It won't matter whether the Scoobies can bring you back or not." Spike said determined.

"Hey… No death thoughts before the battle." Buffy tried to humor the situation.

"I still haven't heard you accept what I said."

After a moment's silence, Buffy said "I accept." Spike gave her a tender kiss in her lips and both held onto each other tightly enjoying the closeness.

"So what are we going to do after the battle?"

"Your choice luv. I stayed to help Angel. Now that W&H is gone and Angel can do whatever he wants, I can do whatever I want."

"Good. Maybe we can go on another world tour. You can show me around this time."

"A bit of a problem in that plan pet. Vampire here. Will be a pile of dust in the daytime and night time only travel will take a long time."

"We must find something for your skin allergy to the sun. Interrupts a lot of our plans." Buffy said pouting.

"We'll think about it later. Now, we must be ready for whatever is coming to get us."

"Oh yes. The big Apocalypse."

Both got up from the bed and reluctantly walked downstairs to face the music.

**A/N :** Story is coming closer to the end. Hope you are enjoying it. The Big Battle Up Ahead. Continue to read and don't forget to REVIEW.

**TBC…**


	25. The Apocalypse

**Chapter 24 :** The Apocalypse

**Disclaimer :** Joss Whedon owns the characters. Atleast most of them. I'm continuing the story which didn't end when he finished. Just want to have an ending.

**A/N :** Thanks for your patience. Hope the story is interesting. More chapters coming up. PLEASE REVIEW

* * *

The door to the Hyperion opened and in came in the Slayer army. Faith entered leading the other Slayers into the hall. All the Scooby members came down to receive them. Buffy and Spike were the last ones.

"Hey B, Did you miss me?" Faith teased.

"Sure Faith. Did you bring enough weapons for everyone?" Buffy asked in commanding voice.

"Sure did. Check out the vans outside. Can fit all of us and weapons are also there. We should be leaving in an hour if we want to reach there by sunset."

"Ok then. Let's get ready." Buffy turned around to her friends and family. "Listen everyone. This is going to be really nasty. But make sure the nasty is for the Demons ok? Don't get yourself into any troubles. Dawn, you are going to be with Spike all the time. Xander and Willow can stick with Angel. Giles and Andrew will be with Illyria. That's how we stick till the end of the battle. Everyone knows what you should do. So let's go kick some Demon ass."

With that, everyone moved to the vans. One of the vans was tinted with black windows for Spike and Angel. They hopped into it and the others boarded as well. Once everyone was settled, the vans started to move towards the warehouse.

After an hour of traveling, the tension was still high for the Slayers and the Scoobies. They didn't know what to expect and they are going in blindly. The new Slayers have never faced an apocalypse before and they are terrified at the thought of the world ending. When they arrived at the warehouse, the sun was down enough for Spike and Angel to get out of the vans freely.

All of them got a weapon for themselves. Spike and Angel went for the broadswords while Buffy took a slim but strong sword. Dawn had a medium size sword and daggers by her belt. Andrew was holding a sword but it was shaking along with him. All of them started to move towards the entrance of the warehouse.

When they entered, it was empty. Nothing was there in the warehouse. Everyone was confused.

"Did we get the wrong address?" Buffy asked the question.

"Don't think so luv. Getting a very bad vibe here. Seems some Demon is still here." Angel simply nodded in agreement.

"Some dark magic is at work here Buffy; I can feel it within me." Willow also chipped in.

"So what are we dealing with here? Invisible Demons?" Faith asked.

"Welcome everyone. I was expecting you to come by earlier. Seems you are late on your arrival." A voice from far distance welcomed them. Everyone turned to look at the Demon. Spike, Buffy and Willow recognized him instantly.

"Wolfram & Hart" Spike growled.

Angel was surprised but recovered and got ready to attack. The rest are still confused on the empty warehouse.

"So I guess we should start the invasion." With that, W&H waved his arms widely. It seemed like a smokescreen got lifted and everyone saw a big army of Demons in front of them. Far in the distance, a portal remained open.

"I think we are outnumbered B." Faith claimed.

"I noticed that."

"So what's the plan?"

"Willow… Any mojo would be really useful here." Buffy called her friend. Willow was already on it. She was whispering some Latin words and raised her hands in the air. A crackling sound was heard but nothing happened. Willow was confused.

"Silly Witch. Did you think your magic will be affective this time? You are dealing with **_ME_**. Your spells are ineffective." W&H exclaimed and laughed at Willow.

"I'm sorry Buffy. I can't do anything unless I let magic control me." Willow looked guiltily.

"It's ok Will. We can handle it." Xander comforted her.

The Grokshie Demons as Illyria correctly predicted moved quickly towards the army. Before they reached anyone, Illyria stepped forward.

"What is she doing?" Xander whispered to Willow.

"Don't know." Willow answered back while looking at Illyria.

Illyria waved her hand in front of her and the movements of the Grokshie Demons slowed down. They didn't stop but it was slower than the human speed.

"I believe it would be easier for you to attack them now." Illyria stated and moved towards the Demons.

Everyone was surprised and shocked for a moment but regained themselves and moved towards the Demons. The Slayers reached first and started to slaughter the Demons. They were very strong and a slice and dice didn't take them down. A strong powerful thrust only barely penetrated their skins. Their strength however was much stronger than the Slayers. With one sweep of their arm, Slayer went down to the ground.

Angel vamped out and jumped at a Grokshie Demon. He tried to twist its head but it was too strong. It took hold of Angel and threw him away. He got up and attacked it again this time with punches and kicks. It barely staggered but continued attack made it move behind. He swung his sword with all his might and it cut the Demon deeply. It gave a loud growl and fiercely attacked him back. Angel moved away from the angry Demon and swung his sword again to thrust in its back. The Demon was weakening and Angel got the upper hand. He drew back the sword and stabbed the Demon again through the already bleeding wound. It gave a loud cry and fell dead to the ground.

Buffy has found herself a Demon as well. But it seemed quite strong for her to handle. She has stabbed the Demon many times and the Demon was bleeding from its wounds. But it was still strong enough to fight the Slayer. She took a strong swing and connected it with the Demon's neck. Usually a swing like that would have chopped anyone's head off the body. But it only cut the Demon's neck halfway. The sword was stuck on its neck and Buffy gave a strong pull which cut something in the Demon's neck. It gave a cry and bled to death.

Faith was handling her Demon pretty well. It was stronger than normal Demons but not as strong as its companions. She was attacking it with full force. She managed to get hold of the Demon from behind and pushed it to a pipe in the warehouse. It struck through the Demon's body. Faith came behind and used all her might to push the Demon further into the pipe. It laid there hanging lifelessly.

Willow has managed to find some spells that could harm the Demons. But it is not strong enough to kill them. She used the spell to momentarily weaken them and Xander would strike his sword into the Demon's neck to kill it. They had a pretty good workout on that system and managed to kill some Demons.

Spike was handling the Demon pretty well. He has managed to cut off the wrist of the Demon so far. And also have wounded it deeply. It still managed to challenge him and fight him. Spike had an eye on Dawn who was struggling with her Demon. She was defending herself but hasn't managed to do any harm to the Demon. Spike pushed his Demon off far enough to turn his head to look at Dawn's Demon. It was reaching for her and with the sudden anger coming through him; Spike swung his sword with all his might and chopped off the Demon's hand. It cried out in pain and Dawn took advantage of it by striking her dagger through the Demon's eye. It fell to it's knees and Dawn took a mighty swing and cut the Demon's head off completely.

"Nice Work bit. You've got pretty good strength." Spike complimented while looking at his Demon who was struggling to get up.

"Told Ya." And Dawn went towards another Demon. Spike shook his head and muttered 'bitty Buffy' in low voice. Dawn called back "I heard that."

Spike turned and looked at his Demon enemy.

"Come on mate. Give me some challenge." When it didn't attack, he just swung his sword and stabbed the Demon right through where a heart would be. It fell to the floor and Spike moved onto another Demon.

Illyria had no problem against the Demons in front of her. She was throwing them like dolls. Her natural strength was far more powerful than anyone predicted. She tore off the Demons' heads and threw them like a ragged ball. Giles and Andrew were following her defending themselves when needed. Illyria was moving towards where W&H was standing.

The rest of the Slayers including Kennedy were struggling but managing to keep up in the battle. The slow pace of their enemy gave them definite advantage and they are taking it full force. They have managed to kill a number of Demons so far. But they have sustained a heavy damage as well. No casualties yet on the good side. There is still a lot of Grokshie Demons alive yet to be attacked.

W&H was surprised at the courage and strength of the mortals. He expected them to fall back or be weaker than what he witnesses before him. But they still have to face him and when they do, they will not survive.

Illyria was very close to W&H and he came to attack her face to face.

"Illyria. It is an honour to meet the old one. I am very surprised of your participation in the mortal struggle. I would have assumed to be untrue if I have not seen it myself."

"The mortals are strong at heart and their fight for survival seems to be fitting. I would have to hurt you unless you retreat and go back to where you came from." Illyria threatened.

"I cannot do that I'm afraid." W&H prepared to fight.

When they punched each other, both of their strength seemed equal. Illyria was surprised but didn't give up her fight. Instead she fought harder with more power. He was keeping up his end for a while by defending and attacking whenever he saw a weakness in Illyria. But it seemed to be ineffective on her as she fought back without losing her balance.

Angel has managed to kill more Demons on his end and was nearing W&H. He wanted to end the battle himself. He started the battle for the innocents and his friends followed his path. And because of W&H and his firm, Angel has lost more than anyone should in their lifetime. And it seemed fitting for him if he was the one who ended it. He closed on W&H as fast as he can while killing the Demons that came in his path. He has got used to the Demons and their weaknesses now after all the killing. It seemed effortless now and he killed them automatically.

Buffy was also moving towards where W&H and Illyria was fighting. She saw him in Spike's memories and saw the pain he caused him. She was determined to get her revenge and nothing in her way would stop her from having her revenge. That included the Grokshie Demons.

Spike was protecting Dawn as much as he could while moving towards the big battle himself. He assisted her sometimes but mostly allowed her to kill the Demons by herself. She was getting hand with her killing spree on the Demons. She knew how to attack them after watching Spike Demonstrating it. She is sneaky and moved quicker than the Demons for them to be able to attack her properly. She stabbed them in their weak parts and moved along with Spike.

Xander and Willow are working as a team still while following Angel's path. They have managed to kill an amount of Demon with the magic spells. Giles and Andrew were along in their way to the big battle themselves. They got separated from Illyria during her quick movements and they caught up with Xander and Willow instead. Now all four of them moved in the path Angel was moving.

Faith and the Slayers were not interested in the big bad. They were busy handling the Grokshie Demons. They were slaughtering them and taking the wounded away from the battle. Faith gave the order for the junior Slayers and instructed them on the attack.

Soon, Buffy, Spike and Angel along with his followers have reached closer to where Illyria was manhandling W&H. She has gained the upper hand and now thrashing him into a bloody pulp. When the gang got close, Illyria gave a hard roundhouse kick to W&H which made him crash with the wall making a hole.

"Ooh… That can't feel good." Xander commented.

W&H got up to his feet. He looked at all of them in front of him. They were ready to pounce on him. W&H snickered at them.

"Now you are going to feel the real meaning of pain." With that, he started to murmur something in Latin.

His body was boiling and cracks were starting to come in his skin in front of everyone. Smoke started to come from his body and covered the area he was standing. Nobody could see anything happening in there for a moment. When the smokescreen cleared, instead of W&H, there were three different Demons looking at the gang.

"I'm guessing this is a bad thing." Xander said.

The Demons represented the name Wolf Ram and Hart. One of the Demons had a Wolf face with sharp teeth that could tear up a human skin effortlessly. The skin was also similar to a wolf. Only difference would be that the Demon was walking in two feet unlike a wolf. The second Demon has a Ram head and strong rough skin. And the final one had a Hart head with pointed horns. All their eyes were red and they are taller than average humans. All three started to move forwards the gang.

The gang quickly split into groups. Illyria was ready to face the Wolf and Angel was facing Ram. Buffy was going to face Hart but Spike came in and stood by her. She looked at him and he looked in her eyes. Both came to a silent understanding and took their stance to be ready to fight. The rest of the gang turned around to stop the Grokshie Demons from interfering.

Wolf pounced on Illyria who took hold of his arms and threw him away with his momentum. He crashed to the floor. Angel didn't have such luck and Ram rammed himself onto Angel taking both of them down. Hart rushed into the waiting Slayer and Vampire. Both managed to take down his momentum and get him to the ground. He got up very quick and moved to attack them again.

When he came back forward, he smashed his head onto Spike. Spike gave a yelp and moved away bleeding from the wound caused by Hart's horns. Buffy took hold of the Demon from behind and threw him away onto the ground. She moved over him quickly and started to thrash the Demon's face with a series of punches. He pushed her off and moved away. Spike was up by that time. He moved onto attack the Demon with his vampiric strength. The Demon managed to defend itself and punched Spike away from it. Buffy was back and both joined forces to attack the Demon simultaneously.

Meanwhile, Angel and Ram have been having a blast of their own. Ram was quite strong for a Demon but Angel's suppressed anger was bringing the best out of him. The Demon was defending himself from Angel rather than attacking him. Ram did manage to get a couple of swings on Angel who took him down but he was back on his feet with vampire speed. Angel was bleeding from his wounds and Ram has gotten wounds from the attack by Angel.

Illyria was the one who was comfortable with the battle. She was not intimidated by the look of Wolf and kept attacking the Demon full force. The Demon seemed very weak from the attacks by Illyria. But it was still on its foot. Both of them were brawling and the Demon has managed to inflict some wounds on Illyria's body. But she doesn't seem to be concerned about that. She was focused on killing the Demon.

The Slayers were killing the Grokshie Demons still but they kept on coming from the portal. Willow tried to shut it down but it was magically protected. She couldn't do anything else but attack the Demons with the spells that does have an affect on them. Xander and Giles were going a good job killing the weakened and stunned Demons. Andrew was terrified initially but he was along with Dawn hurting the Demons anyway they can. Together, they were doing a very good job stopping any Demons passing them towards the big battle.

Illyria was the first one who got the upper hand over the trio. Wolf got the upper hand initially and pounced on her. When she fell onto the floor, he tried to rip her body off with his teeth. Before he got a good bite off her, she took hold of his head and twisted it with all her strength. His neck cracked and the Demon's body fell off of her. She got to her feet and looked at her wounds where blood was bleeding freely. She rubbed it off like nothing and then looked around her where the other two brawls are happening.

When one of their brothers was killed, the other two of the trio's strength weakened. Buffy and Spike managed to easily take control over Hart and took him down with their attacks. Spike pulled out his sword from the ground and rammed it through the Demon's chest. When he was howling, Buffy took hold of her sword and rammed it on the other side of the chest. With both swords through his chest, Hart gave the final breath and died.

Angel who didn't notice anything happening around him attacked Ram with all his strength. He didn't notice Ram's strength weakening and Angel managed to get the upper hand in their fight. He beat up Ram as much as he could and then as a final justice, he bit Ram by his neck sucking the life out of him. He tore off the Demon's throat and spit it out letting the dead Demon's body fall to the floor.

Then everything happened in slow motion. People seemed to be frozen in their position to Angel. A blinding light came over him. And then someone appeared next to him and took his hand. The person pulled Angel by his hand towards a shining door and Angel didn't have any will over his body except to follow through. For some reason, he didn't feel threatened by that person. He walked to the door which opened and stepped in.

For the others, all they saw was Angel biting the Demon by its neck and spitting it out. And a sudden light covered him and he disappeared. The gang was startled at that but they didn't have time to think. The portal was still open and Grokshie Demons still came through.

"Willow, do you think you can close the portal now?" Buffy called out to her friend.

Willow focused her energy on the portal again and whispered the same Latin words as before. Without any restriction, the portal closed by Willow's command. The rest of the Grokshie Demons were stuck in their own dimension. The Slayers and the gang managed to kill the stranded Demons without any more loss in their end.

"What happened to Angel?" Willow asked her friend who was just as confused as she was.

"I don't know. One minute he was there and the next minute he wasn't." Buffy answered confused.

"Maybe he got shifted to another dimension as well?" Xander gave his opinion.

"Bloody hell. Another dimension? Another rescue mission? When will this ever end?" Spike asked annoyed by the thought.

"When the world lives in peace and harmony." Dawn sing-songed at him giggling.

"Whatever happened, we need to find him." Buffy finally concluded and looked around at the fallen dead bodies and Slayer bodies in the warehouse.

**A/N :** Sorry if the battle is sloppy. My imagination didn't run that well on the battle scenario. Some unexpected results in the next chapter which would be the final chapter as well. And an epilogue after that. Let me know whether a sequel is a good idea. Continue to read and don't forget to REVIEW.

**TBC…**


	26. New Life

**Chapter 25 :** New Life

Disclaimer : Joss Whedon owns the characters. Atleast most of them. I'm continuing the story which didn't end when he finished. Just want to have an ending.

**A/N :** Thanks for your patience. Hope the story is interesting. More chapters coming up. PLEASE REVIEW

* * *

Angel was brought in front of a council in a white room. He didn't know where he was and didn't know what he should ask.

"Welcome Liam. We have been expecting you." one of the council people said.

"My name is Angel. And where am I?"

"You were the chosen one who defended the innocent. A vampire cursed with a soul destined to do good for mankind. You have been proven worthy and will be awarded."

"Wait. This is a mistake. I have signed off the prophecy. I cannot be the one you are looking for." Angel answered disbelievingly.

"A prophecy cannot be changed Liam. It was meant for you and only you. You cannot decide whether you are worthy or not. We as the Powers To Be have decided you as worthy."

"I have no reason to live. Everyone I cared about have died or left me. I have no one to be with. I have lost my friends and my family. What do you expect me to live for?" Angel asked angrily.

"There is nothing that could be lost and cannot be gained. Everything will happen according to the plan. You will find your purpose in your Mortal Life. You will find peace in your heart. However, you have a choice to be made."

"What choice would that be?" Angel asked.

"Would you like to have a fresh start and erase all your memories? Or would you like to live your human life along with your old memories?" The leader of the council asked.

Angel had to think about his decision. He has committed sins that he can't seem to erase from his memories. He was always haunted by those memories. But now he could erase those memories and live as a human. He can be reunited with Buffy. But if he erases his memory, he will not remember Buffy. Or Cordelia. Or any of his friends. And that would be a sacrifice that he cannot make. They have been with him till their end and they must not be forgotten so easily.

"I think I would keep my memories." Angel spoke out.

"Very well, you have been redeemed of your past and your soul is fixed with your body permanently. You will have your life as mortal and age as a mortal. You will live your life and find peace in your heart. We wish you well Liam." With that, Angel was transferred back to the reality.

He looked around and saw that he was in a hospital. He walked down the corridor and saw Giles standing there near a door. He walked towards him. Giles looked up and saw Angel.

"Oh Angel. We were worried about you. We were wondering where you disappeared." Giles asked.

"I had a chat with the PTBs. Apparently I have proven my worthiness and they have made me human." Angel explained and Giles' eyes went wide.

"Oh Lord… Oh My…" Giles removed his glasses and cleaned them.

"I believe congratulations are in order." Giles said and reached out his hand to Angel. Angel looked at the hand for a moment and took it to shake it strong.

"I was wondering where Buffy is. And what are we doing here anyway?" Angel asked Giles.

"This is a hospital known by the Council. We have brought the injured Slayers here. Buffy is inside this room getting out of her hospital clothes. She had to go in for a full checkup as a precaution." Giles explained.

"May I talk to her alone?" Angel asked for permission.

"Sure. I'll go get myself a cup of tea from the cafeteria." Giles walked away allowing Angel to enter the door. Angel opened the door and walked in. He was focusing on closing the door making no noise; he didn't see the black coated figure walking towards the door.

"Hello Buffy" Buffy spun around to look at Angel.

"Angel" she murmured and ran to him giving him a big hug.

"We were so worried about you. What happened? Where did you go?" Angel held her tight enjoying the feeling of her.

Buffy's eyes widened at the feeling of his skin. It was unlikely warm. There was a thin sound of a heartbeat close to his chest. She moved away from him shocked.

"PTBs pulled me away for a while. They said I have proven myself worthy and awarded me with humanity. I am totally 100 human Buffy."

She was still shocked to speak.

"We could finally be together without any worries or clause of losing my soul now." Angel said smiling at her shocked face.

That thought made Buffy strong enough to speak.

"I didn't expect this to happen." She whispered softly.

"Neither did I. I thought Spike would be the one. But PTBs claimed I was the one. And now I can find my happiness with you. We can walk in the sun and be at the beach. We can have our family together." Angel went on.

Buffy found the strength in her voice again.

"Angel… I was in love with you completely with myself and my soul. You were my first love and I will always love you. This is something I dreamt about and would have given anything to have a normal life with you."

Angel was smiling at her declaration of love and Buffy was so into her emotions, neither noticed the door close completely and a figure walking away from the doorstep.

"However, I am not that same girl anymore. That girl didn't live through the life I have. She didn't have to die to save the world. She didn't have to loose her mother. She didn't have to go through the pain and suffering I have been through in the last six years. After everything I have been through and lived through, I don't think I want that anymore. I don't think I want to be a normal girl anymore. I love you Angel but I'm not in love with you. The only person who has been by my side regardless through everything was someone else."

Angel tried to speak but Buffy raised her hands to stop him from speaking.

"I know you left town for my own good. But I didn't ask you to. You decided what was good for me. You left me to face my own destiny. I lived through a lot in the last few years. I felt alone and abandoned. But Spike was there to remind me that I'm not. No matter how many times we tried to get rid of him, how many times I tried to avoid him, he never gave up on me. I even beat him up and took all my anger on him and he just let me. I used him for my own selfish reasons and he simply allowed me. And when he did react, it made him go and get his soul so that he will never do it again. We hurt each other then but I think I hurt him emotionally and physically far more than he did.

Angel didn't know about that incident. He wanted to ask but he didn't want to interfere.

When we were in the battle with the First, I don't think I could have won or survived in that without the strength he gave me. When all my friends and family abandoned me and threw me out of my own house, he was there beside me to give me the strength to follow my path. And he never asked anything in return."

Angel tried to speak again. But Buffy's stern look stopped him from speaking.

"I know what you are going to say. He is a vampire and he cannot give me the life I want. Truth is, I don't care. I don't care whether he is a vampire or he has done unforgivable sins in his past. He was always there for me no matter what. He saved the world by giving up his life. He changed his true nature to be by my side. I believe in him. I trust him. Even if he somehow loses his soul, I have complete faith in him not to harm me or anyone else. He loved me with or without a soul. That is something I cannot say about you when you were a vampire. When you became Angelus, you did not love me and I couldn't love you. But I can love Spike with or without his soul because both are the same person to me. I love him for who he is and what he did for me and my friends. I didn't want to believe it then because he is a Vampire and I am a Slayer. But it doesn't matter to me anymore. He may not be able to give me a family. He may not be able to take me in the sun. But he gives me what I need. He gives me a reason to live my life. He is what I need and I don't think I can be without him. My heart and soul belongs to him and only him."

She took a moment to catch her breath.

"You are human now Angel. You can live your life happily with someone else. You can find the perfect someone who completes you. Because I am not that one. I am already complete with my other half. I wish you will find yours too."

With that, she reached up and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek and walked out of the door. Angel was stunned at her speech for a moment. Tears came from his eyes. He wiped it off and left the room.

* * *

Meanwhile…

Spike went to get some diet coke for Buffy. When he came back, he saw Angel walking into her room. He was surprised seeing his Grandsire and at the same time wondered why he was going to Buffy's room. He walked in closely to hear Angel telling her about him becoming human. Spike was jealous for a moment at Angel for being shanshued. Then he heard Angel's declaration of being with Buffy and her talking about her love for him. It broke his heart into many pieces.

'Of course. What else did you expect? Did you think she would actually choose you over Angel who is also apparently a human? You are truly pathetic.' He was scolding himself for hoping too much.

'I can't be around watching them be a couple and look like a wounded puppy. I must get out of here. Get out of America. Maybe go to England.' his thoughts ran wildly. He picked up a paper and a pen from the reception. Wrote down something and put it in his pocket. He was close to the lift when it opened and out came Giles.

"Hello Spike." At the look of Spike's face, Giles knew what happened.

"I believe you have heard the extraordinary news?" Spike silently nodded. "I am quite sure what happened from your face. I can't say I didn't suspect it. She always wanted a normal life and she did love Angel. Now she has a chance to get both she wanted without the worry of being the only Slayer." Spike kept silent. He didn't want to speak as it might make him break down in front of Giles.

"I didn't get a chance to properly thank you for what you did in Hellmouth. It simply showed your courage to save the world. I am truly sorry for the way I treated you in the final years. I was taught that demon cannot change and always will be evil. When you had your chip, I believed it was what was controlling you. When you helped us in that summer, I did believe you to be good. But I had my doubts. But your act to achieve your soul and save the world showed who you really are. You are truly unique for a vampire. And I am honored to have fought by your side." Giles spoke with sincere honesty.

"Thanks Rupert. It means more than you can ever imagine. I do have a request though." Spike said with a soft emotional voice.

"Anything you want and I'll arrange it for you."

"I'm thinking of coming back to mother land. Can you arrange something for me to do there?" Spike asked him.

"Sure. I'll make the travel arrangements. And you can work in our Council. You can be the trainer for all the Slayers in the Council." Giles spoke with authority.

"Don't you think the Watchers may get annoyed by the fact a vampire training a Slayer?" Spike smirked.

"I believe they would. But I can convince them otherwise. Will you be at the Hyperion?"

"Nah. I am thinking of being somewhere else for the time being. I'll contact you in a couple of days for my travel arrangements. Can you give this to Dawn for me?" He took the paper from his pocket and gave it to Giles. Giles nodded and Spike went to the lift downstairs to the car park. He came out of the hospital and stayed in the shadow looking at the sun shining street. He took a cigarette and lit it.

"You know those things will kill you?" A man came and stood next to Spike.

"Can't kill something that's already dead mate." Spike said taking another puff from it.

"Sometimes you can't. Sometimes you can." Whistler answered cryptically.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Spike asked straight forwardly. He didn't want to be played again.

"Seems like the PTBs are interested in you for some reason. They have sent you an invitation. Wanna go for a ride?"

Spike thought for a moment. "Already had someone play that card before. Didn't work out very well." He replied.

"This time I'm taking you to the Oracles. You can hear it from them directly. No confusions."

Spike nodded and both of them walked to the wall in the shadows. Whistler said something and touched the wall. It became tangible.

"You can go in now" Whistler stepped away and Spike moved forward.

Spike wasn't sure about this. He thought this was a trick. But he wanted to know who was trying to play him. So he decided to play along and he stepped into the wall. It took him somewhere else.

"Welcome Vampire" Two figures appeared in front of him.

"So what's the deal here? Who are you people?"

"We are the Oracles. What have you brought us?" The female questioned.

"What the bloody hell should I bring you? I didn't bring you anything. Why should I? You are supposed to be telling me something."

"We require gift in order to share vital information for you." The male replied.

"Sod this. I can't give you anything." Spike turned to leave.

"The information may be vital to your future." The female spoke up.

Spike was indecisive. He didn't have anything to give them even if he wanted to. Then something felt in his pocket. He reached in and pulled out his lighter. His favorite lighter. And he didn't want to sacrifice that.

"How important is the information?" Spike questioned.

"It may change your life completely." They answered in unison.

"Ok. Here you go. My lighter. Has been with me for years and now I have to trade it with the sodding Oracles." Spike murmured.

"The PTBs are surprised at your sacrifice. They have been watching you and expected a long time for you to come on the good side. It was expected to happen years after. But your sacrifice to save the world gave you a start early in your life." The male explained.

"You have been chosen by the PTBs to be the protector of the innocents. There is still a need for a savior and you are the chosen one. Your strength comes from your love. And it will help you redeem yourself quicker than any other. You will be rewarded for your service. You will find your happiness." The female continued.

"Sorry but I think you must be mistaken. I just came out knowing my happiness is over and my love is no more. So play another tune will ya?"

"Nothing is what they seem Vampire. You will know it when you leave here. You will have a gift of our appreciation waiting for you. You may leave now."

"Hey. You didn't even ask me if I want to be the one. What if I don't? Don't I have a choice?" Spike called them back.

"You already chose when you decided to fight for the good side. Now follow your path and find your destiny."

And then Spike was standing outside the wall looking at the street.

"Where did you go? I've been looking for you." Spike turned around to the voice.

Buffy was standing there looking at him. Spike shrugged his shoulders. "Great. First the Oracles and now madame i I'm in love. /i " Spike murmured to himself.

"Spike… What's wrong?" Buffy asked while coming closer to him.

"Don't Buffy. I already know what you are going to say. You don't have to say anything. I'm not going to be bothering you. I have my own path to follow to. You can go and live your merry life." Spike spoke trying to hide his pain but failing to do so.

"What are you talking about?" Buffy asked confused.

"I heard you Buffy. I know what's happening. I know your decision." Spike continued his rambling.

"What the hell are you talking about? What's happening?" Buffy questioned him.

"I know about Angel. I was there. I heard what you said. I was outside the door when you declared your undying love for him. I heard him asking you to spend your life with him. And I'm not going to come between you and your true love. Some people are destined to be together and I guess you and the great poof are one of them. So go live your happily married life." Spike said and turned to walk away.

"Oh My God. How stupid can you really be?" Buffy asked him and he turned to look at her with anger. She was trying to hold onto her laugh failing miserably.

"Oh ya. I look like a joke to you. I know… how pathetic can a Vampire be falling in love with a Slayer? I am the big bad joke of all time." Spike continued.

Buffy's face turned to seriousness. "Spike. Look at me." He looked. "I'm not going to be with Angel. I want to be with you. That was what I was telling him and you ran away without listening to the whole speech."

Spike looked dumbstruck. "But… I heard you say that you love him." He was struggling for words now.

"Yes I did and I do love him. But I'm not in love with him. Not anymore. I may have wanted that once upon a time in my life. But I already have everything I need for the rest of my life. As long as you are by my side, I wouldn't need anything else to make me happy." Buffy said with a smile.

"Why? I mean he was your true love. And now he is human. Both of you can be together and have a family. Why come to me? Why choose me?" Spike still questioned showing his insecurity.

"I don't know why. Why is it that you love me when you are supposed to kill me? Why is it that you risked your life for Dawn? Why did you sacrifice your life to save the world?" She asked him back. Then continued "I don't know why but all I know is that I love you and without you, nothing would seem perfect to me." She was surprised on her openness of her feelings. A couple of years ago, she would have kicked him and ran away when she felt anything remotely emotional to the same Vampire.

"You have no idea how you make me feel. And I can be damn sure I won't loose my soul out of pure happiness because if I can, then I would have by now." Spike said smiling. Buffy gave him a smile as well and came into his arms and embraced him around his waist.

"I don't know how long I will live Buffy but as long as I do, I will always keep you safe and happy. I promise" he kissed her forehead to seal the promise and when she looked into his eyes, he leaned down and captured her lips with his. It was soft and tender full of promises.

"Ahem… I guess everything went fine I see." the voice interrupted their moment. When they looked at the person, Buffy was shocked.

"Whistler?" she asked surprised.

"You know this bloke luv?" Spike asked Buffy who simply nodded.

"Nice of you to remember me. I came to congratulate Spike on his mission and give him his gift."

"What mission? What gift?" Buffy tensed.

"Don't worry luv. Nothing bad. The PTBs have chosen me to be the savior of the people. They want me to take the peaches' place in the good guys list. And they are supposed to give me a gift of appreciation." Spike explained.

"Actually, you are one step more than Angel. Since you found your redemption by yourself and love showed you the path, you are given a gift of love." And Whistler handed Spike a small box.

Spike opened it and a ring was inside. He looked at Whistler with disbelief. Buffy looked at it as well and knew what it was instantly.

"The ring of Amara?" Both asked in unison.

"Yes. A gift for you to walk in sunlight and be safe from your Vampire weaknesses."

"It's too risky. What if something goes wrong? What if it falls into the wrong hands?" Spike raised the question.

"Good that you asked. Actually this is different from the one you had before. This is blessed solely upon you. Only you can wear it. And don't worry about it getting destroyed because it cannot. It will exist as long as you exist as a Vampire." Whistler explained it to the couple.

"What do you mean he exists as a Vampire?" Buffy asked the question now.

"Well… he is on a path of redemption now just like Angel. He will become human too one day if he follows the path. But I have a feeling he would reach there quicker than Angel." Whistler told his final point and looked at the couple who were still in shock.

"Now I'll let you two lovebirds get on with your life and move on. By the way, someone will be your seer to help you in your redemption. Good luck" with that, he went off.

Buffy and Spike were lost out of words. They looked at the path Whistler went and looked at each other.

"Was that…" Spike started to ask but couldn't complete. "Real?" Buffy completed and nodded her head.

"I guess it's nice to know the PTBs do have a way of showing how they care huh?" Buffy asked Spike who was still in shock with his surprising gifts.

"So try on the ring. I want to you to take me on a walk in the sun." Buffy encouraged him and he put his ring in his finger. Then he reached a hand out into where the rays of sun were falling. His hand didn't burn but it warmed up though. Then he moved into the sunlight and the light bounced off his features making him glow. Buffy was engulfed with emotions looking at him. He looked like a real Angel in the sunlight. She walked close to him and gripped his hands. Both of them started to walk in the sunlight hand in hand.

"Spike" Dawn's voice was heard from a distance. Both of them paused to turn around. When they did, they saw Dawn running towards them. She ran into them breathless and took a moment to catch her breath.

"What the hell were you thinking leaving me a note and going away?" She started to yell at him not noticing him in the sunlight.

"Nibblet, it's alright. I'm not going anywhere. Not anymore." Spike said smiling at her.

"Wait…" Dawn looked at him wide eyed. "You are in the sun and not burning…" Dawn was shocked out of her head.

"Courtesy of the people above." Spike pointed up and showed her the ring. Dawn knew about the ring of Amara from Spike's stories. She looked at him happily and surprised.

"Wait a minute… You were leaving and not telling me?" Buffy caught up on her sister's accusation.

"Well luv, I was thinking you were gonna be with the grand poof and I didn't want to be around with you giving moon eyes to him. I thought of going back to England with Giles and help the Council in there." Buffy and Dawn looked at him disapprovingly.

"If you ever pull a stunt like that ever again, we will tear you apart piece by piece and bury you in the garden so that you will never leave." Buffy threatened and Dawn nodded her head in agreement.

"Well luv, small technical difficulty. Vampire here, no tearing apart. Only dusty ending." Spike said humoring the situation.

"Whatever. We will mix your dust into the water and pour it to the plants in the garden. Right Dawn?" Dawn was nodding trying to hide her smile.

"Don't worry. Why would I want to leave when two of my best girls are here?" Spike smiled and put his arms around both of them. All three walked back to the hospital.

* * *

Illyria has healed from her wound. There is a light indication on where the wounds were but they were healing supernaturally.

"I have decided to go to another dimension." She spoke her thoughts.

"Why? I mean you seemed to be getting settled in here. Why would you want to leave?" Willow asked.

"This is not my time. I don't wish to intrude on the human lifestyle. You have taught me how valuable human life is and how one should fight for the good at any cost. I will follow that and help the innocents in other dimensions." She bowed her head in respect.

"We'll sure miss you blue. Be safe and do drop in some time." Spike said.

"I will miss you too half breed. Lead the others and protect the innocents." She turned to the wall and after a moment, a portal opened. She walked right through it. The portal closed behind her.

"I guess I'll be going as well. I must find a way to live my life." Angel said turning to Giles.

"I'll contact you to get my papers. You will be in Hyperion right?" Angel asked him.

"I'm afraid so. Until all the Slayers are healed and sent back to Cleveland, I have the responsibility to their safety. I will arrange for your identification and authorized papers immediately." Giles answered back.

"Be safe Angel and good luck with your new life." Buffy wished him.

He gave her a smile and nodded his head towards his once grandchilde. Spike nodded back and Angel walked out the door into the sunlight.

'Man it sure does feel different when you are alive.' Angel thought to himself.

He walked down the pavement with his memories of his friends. He missed all of them and they have given their lives for a path he followed. He was lost in his thoughts when he heard a woman scream.

"Help. Someone, he stole my purse." A guy was running towards Angel.

Instinctively, Angel raised his hand and blocked the mugger's path. He took out a knife and Angel took hold of his wrist and twisted it. He managed to slash Angel before he dropped the knife. Angel looked at the blood coming from his arm and the pain he felt. He sure did feel alive. A smile came on his face and he punched the lights out of the mugger. He took the purse from his hands and turned to the lady who came running behind the mugger.

"Oh thank god. I thought I wouldn't be able to get that shoes I wanted to buy today." the woman stopped her rambling when she saw the guy who stopped the mugger staring at her like a ghost.

"Co.. Co.. Cordy?" Angel whispered.

"Duh. I'm not Cordy or whoever she is. I'm Jenny. Haven't you seen my ads before?" Jenny continued to babble. Then looked at Angel.

"Do I know you from somewhere before?" Angel shook his head. "Guess I can buy you lunch for saving my money and my Gucci purse. It caused me quite a lot to get this specific purse."

Angel smiled at the coincidence. 'Somehow, everything will be alright.' Angel thought to himself.

**A/N :** Only an epilogue left to go. Let me know whether a sequel is a good idea. Continue to read and don't forget to REVIEW.

**TBC…**


	27. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

**Disclaimer :** Joss Whedon owns the characters. Atleast most of them. I'm continuing the story which didn't end when he finished. Just want to have an ending.

**A/N :** Thanks for your patience. Hope the story is interesting. More chapters coming up. PLEASE REVIEW

* * *

"So deadboy, what's the plan now?" Xander started the conversation.

"I don't know. I have an idea but I don't know if you guys are willing for it." Spike hesitated.

"Share it with us and let's see about it." Willow encouraged.

"I was thinking about staying here in L.A. and start an Investigation Service" Spike planted his idea to the group.

"You mean you want to continue Angel Investigations?" Willow asked but a stern look from Spike told otherwise. "That would be creepy."

"No. Not Angel Investigations. I was thinking more of like Summers Investigations." Spike said looking at the two Summers women sitting next to him. Both of them beamed up at the thought of their names.

"Ok… That would be alright I guess." Giles joined in the conversation.

"I've spoken to Buffy and Dawn and they are willing to stay in L.A. And Hyperion is in nobody's care anymore since all the AI members have either passed away or disappeared. I was thinking of staying here and start it." Spike explained his idea.

"I think it would be great." Dawn chipped in happily. "Summers Investigation Service. We protect the innocents." She advertised.

"So, what are your plans then?" Buffy asked her friends.

"Don't know. Maybe back to the jungle." Xander replied.

"I'm not sure either." Willow commented.

"So why don't you guys join in as well?" Spike offered. "We can use more people. And the old gang can be together again."

"That is a very good idea." Buffy joined in his excitement. "We can change the name to Scooby Investigation Service if you want."

"Whether it's a Scooby or Summers, both will be SIS. So I'm up for any." Xander gave his opinion.

"Me too" Willow replied excited.

"I believe I can be of assistance in the research department. Even though I'll be far away, a phone call could reach me and update me on the situation. I have resources and contacts that could help you to get your cases." Giles offered his support.

"That's very nice of you Rupert." Spike replied back honestly.

"And I may have to offer my investment on refurbishing this place. It needs to look more professional." Giles continued.

"Oh don't worry about that Giles. We have the master Vampire decorator here for that." Buffy said looking at Spike adoringly.

"Eww… you guys. Can't you take the looks to the room?" Dawn pretended to be disgusted by the looks both blondies were giving each other.

Just then Faith and the other Slayers came into the hotel.

"What's up guys? Who's ready for the travel back home?" Faith asked the gang.

"That would be only me." Giles said standing up.

"What? You guys are staying?" Faith asked the rest.

"Ya. We are going to start a Scooby Investigation Service here." Willow said excitingly.

"What? I thought you were coming with me." Kennedy interrupted looking annoyed.

"Can I talk to you alone for a minute?" Willow asked and moved to a quiet place.

"What now? Change of plans? Because I thought you are coming with me." Kennedy asked showing her anger in her voice.

"The gang are here and they are my family. I want to be with them. You can stay too if you want." Willow told her girlfriend.

"No. I don't want to. That's why we moved to Brazil in the first place. So that we can be alone together." Kennedy didn't lower her voice.

"No honey. You wanted to move there. I went with you only because you wanted to. I wanted to be with my friends. And I still do. So if you can't accept that, then it's better if we go our separate ways." Willow answered finally.

Kennedy just looked at Willow. Then she turned around and walked away. She went to Faith.

"I'm joining you guys to go to Cleveland. It might be more fun in there."

Willow walked back to her friends who have heard the conversation because of Kennedy's raised voice. Xander got up and embraced his best friend in a comforting hug. She hugged him back and after a moment, smile was back in her face.

"So what's the plan for celebration? Shopping? Movie?"

"I don't know. I'm thinking of taking a long day and night rest." Buffy replied looking at Spike who simply nodded in agreement.

"Guys… we all know what your idea of rest is. So just go do it ok?" Dawn said straight forwardly. Buffy blushed at her sister's response while Spike smirked back at her.

"Hey, didn't Whistler said your Seer will be coming in soon? Wonder who it is." Buffy asked him. Spike simply shrugged his shoulder and walked back towards their room. When all of them were starting to break up, Dawn let out a loud shriek that brought everyone back to her.

"What happened?" "What's wrong?" "Is something wrong Bit?" "What's the matter Dawn?" Questions were raised around her.

"Wow… this is so freaky. I suddenly had a thought of a demon attacking a young girl in an alley. I think it's the alley opposite to the shopping hall. Wonder what made that imagination come in my mind." Dawn spoke to the worried faces.

Xander and Willow looked confused. Spike and Buffy looked at each other. Then at Dawn. Then again at each other. Then they started to laugh out hysterically. Everyone else looked at them weirdly.

"Ok guys. If you can share the joke, we can join in the laughter too you know?" Willow spoke up.

Buffy and Spike controlled their laughter after a moment and explained. "Guess who became a Seer after being the key?" Spike asked the others. Everyone turned to look at Dawn who had wide eyes with surprise.

"Dawn is the Seer." Xander finally said it out loud.

**A/N :** OK Everyone. The story is complete. I wanted to give an explanation to the ending of Angel as well as a Spuffy ending. I wanted to give Angel a happy ending too and give a meaning for Illyria's return. Now everything is complete. Let me know whether a sequel is a good idea. It would be the life of the Scoobies as the Investigation team.Don't forget to REVIEW. I'm currently working on another three stories and your reviews will motivate me to write them quickly and release them. So please take a minute and review to cheer the author (ME). :D


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